Cross My Heart
by Angelight
Summary: [UsaHiiroMina] The entire ESUN is speculating on what has caused Miss Darlian's absence from public. Meanwhile, the Preventers are anxiously trying to find a replacement...Calling all blondes!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. Please don't sue. ^^;;

Thank yous to my editors, Autumn Hime, Usagi Asia Maxwell, Lady Artemis, and DevilsDarling for being half-supportive. They replied, and I quote, "Do you REALLY think you should be starting another one NOW?" ALL of them! It's a conspiracy.                

…………………

The reporter frowned at his last answer but jotted it down nevertheless before looking up again and pinning him with an assessing stare. Her mouth curved up in a wry smile as she absentmindedly tossed her hair over her shoulder and clicked her pen twice. In. Out.

"So, Mr. Yui. Can you explain why exactly Miss Darlian hasn't made a public appearance since … two months ago, in August?" Again, she smiled the calculating reporter grin and readied her pen for a response.

"There is no reason. She simply doesn't wish to appear in public." Trowa and Wufei sitting beside him nodded convincingly, but the reporter seemed anything but convinced.

"Not even to assure the world that she is still alive?"

"She doesn't wish to appear in public," Trowa repeated the excuse like a mantra.

The reporter leaned closer, almost conspiratorially. "But there have been rumors … People are wondering whether or not she has developed a chronic disease-"

"Rumors are rumors."

She brushed the Asian man's short bark of a protest aside easily and clicked her pen again. "Or even that she had received a threat that simply could not be ignored. Is there any truth behind that?"

Three voices chimed a single, vehement, "No."

Sighing, the woman leaned back disappointedly, twisting her mouth frustratedly to the side. "Well then. Let's move on." The feral grin returned. "Is it true that you, Mr. Yui, and Miss Darlian are an item?"

"No."

"But the pictures-"

"Are exaggerated. We are simply friends."

"Close friends?" the reporter probed, barely looking up at him as she scrawled words on the pad she had brought. He uneasily wondered exactly _what _she was finding so devilishly interesting.

"Friends."

"And Mr. Barton? Mr. Chang? Would you consider the two simply friends?"

She looked through Hiiro's brooding scowl as her eyes darted from one man to the next. 

"Of course," Trowa replied tightly, his mouth drawn in a thin line. At her inquiring glance, Wufei nodded sharply. 

"Any projected times at which Miss Darlian would be back in the-"

The opening door and head poking into the room interrupted her. "Time's up!" called Duo, cheerfully, not noticing the reporter's vastly irritated expression. She managed a small smile and, "Thank you, gentlemen," before scooping up her pad, pen, and tape recorder. Nobody smiled back. 

…………………

"So what do you want me to do exactly?"

Her long time friend smiled the political smile she was so good at and tilted her head to one side in a thoughtful pose. "I'm not sure. Logic says that they'll look for a Relena look-a-like to replace her for the time being-"

"If your original theory was correct," she pointed out, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. So I was thinking that you could maybe apply for the job."

She blinked, wide-eyed at Rei, speechless, before bursting out in peels of laughter.

Rei scowled. "What's so funny? You look almost exactly like her, with a bit of makeup. Blond hair, same height, give or take an inch-"

Usagi fought for breath as she clutched her stomach and waved a dismissive hand, begging for silence. "Rei, I'm a photographer, not an actress and most definitely _not_ an undercover agent!"

"Fine then. Be that way."

"Be what way? Realistic?" she shot back before falling prey to another fit of giggles.

…………………

"We have a semi-major crisis in our hands," Duo began, smiling a bit at his four comrades, gathered around him.

Trowa pursed his lips. "If you call a crisis that could trigger another war 'semi-major', then by all means. We have a semi-major crisis in our hands."

"Why do bad guys have to have such good timing?" Duo groaned, pouting and sweeping a comprehensive gaze over the remaining four Gundam pilots turned Preventers. "They just _had_ to kick her when she was down."

"I hadn't known Miss Relena's self-esteem was slipping so low…" Quatre sighed. Three heads automatically turned towards Hiiro, who glared back defensively. 

"You know, you could have been more supportive, Yui," Wufei started accusingly.

"C'mon Wu-man. There's no use assigning blame now."

Wufei met Duo's plea with an obstinate glare. "Well who else could be responsible? Yui is the only one with her 24-7. And with _his_ oratory skills … I certainly don't blame her for stooping so low."

"Anorexia is not 'stooping low', Wufei," Quatre offered quietly.

"Anorexia is starving yourself slowly, committing suicide. It's escaping problems in the most cowardly way. Is that not 'stooping low'?"

Hiiro stood up, instantly drawing the attentions of all four occupants of the room. "Whether or not anorexia is 'stooping low', there is only one true option we have-"

"To tell the press?" Trowa offered softly, staring glumly at the floor.

"To find a replacement."

…………………

"Usagi, I need to have a word with you in my office," Setsuna whispered to her quietly as they passed each other in the hallway. Blue eyes glanced up at her boss from the folder of the latest wedding she had done.

"Oh, um, sure," she replied distractedly before the pictures drew her eyes to them again, and she continued walking down the hall, not noticing the people who were forced to get out of her way. She blindly turned into her office and grabbed the planner lying flat on the pristine desk and headed back out, toward Setsuna's office.

"Hey boss," she greeted, smiling, eyes still trained on the photographs as she sat down opposite of the brunette chief executive.

"I've received a highly confidential email regarding a certain … project the Preventers are doing," Setsuna started, frowning to herself as she scanned the email again. Usagi nodded absentmindedly, muttering tips to herself as she scanned the photo and scribbled out a list of adjustments needed.

"Vice Foreign Minster Darlian has disappeared from the public and for confidential reasons, cannot make any appearances … it would appear that the government is requesting that you go to an audition in order to find a person or persons similar enough to impersonate her." Setsuna stopped at the end of the email and waited for a reply, a gasp of shock, a squeal – anything – but heard only the whirring of her computer. 

"Usagi?"

"Hmm?" The blonde continued to mutter to herself. Setsuna sighed and shook her head. It was one of the reasons she had hired Usagi – she was so dedicated to her work – but this was just ridiculous!

"Usagi," she started again. The blonde nodded as if she were listening. "You. Are. Going. To. Impersonate. Relena. Darlian."

Again, a distracted nod. 

_Need to remove that pimple on the groom's nose … and apply a nicer backdrop … and need to impersonate Relena Darlian … need to-_ She stopped and blinked bemusedly to herself. _Impersonate Relena Darlian?_ Her train of thought was cut short, and her head snapped up to meet smug maroon eyes. 

"Come again?"

…………………

"The entire universe on our records and only three girls look like Relena," Duo grumbled tiredly as he broadened the search to simply blonde-haired, blue-eyed female, height 4'11" to 5'2". "Oh excuse me. FOUR girls who look like Relena."

"Email them," Trowa ordered, not bothering to look up. "Hiiro already set up the security."

"All right-y then," Duo rubbed his hands excitedly. "We're going to have a little audition in our hands next Monday."

…………………

"You set me up!" she cried angrily, drawing several sidelong glances towards their table. "You KNEW this was going to happen, and you still let it!"

"Now, Usagi. Calm down and put down the knife. People are beginning to stare."

"I don't care if people are beginning to stare!" She punctuated each word with a small stabbing motion with the knife.

"Look, Usagi, I knew the government had everybody on file and that Relena-look-a-likes were simply a search away. I KNEW more than likely you were going to be one of the ones chosen because, admit it, you do look like Relena Darlian."

"Do not," she argued sulkily, finally relenting and sitting down, stabbing down into the salad with her knife. Rei stared but chose not to comment.

"But since you're going anyway, can't you just do me that one favor? All I need is _one_ story to make it big … please, Usa? As a friend?"

Stabbing another clump of lettuce with the knife, the blonde stopped and tilted her head to one side. "What was it you wanted me to find out again?"

"What is keeping Relena from making public appearances. And the extent of the relationship between her and her bodyguard."

"She has a bodyguard?"

Rei rubbed her temples as Usagi speared a cherry tomato. "Lord, you're dense, Usagi. Of COURSE she has a bodyguard! The universe would break out in war again if she's hurt! THAT'S why the government is so desperate to get a replacement. For the time being."

"Well excuse me for not keeping up with political fiascoes," Usagi grumbled, chasing another cherry tomato around on her plate.

"You're excused for not keeping up with political fiascoes but NOT excused for lacking common sense."

"Humph." She reached over to the center of the table and impaled a roll with her knife.

"Her team of bodyguards is comprised of Wufei Chang, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, and Hiiro Yui though her personal one is Hiiro Yui only." Rei made a face, as if tasting something unpleasant, at the last name.

"Humph."

"You'll be dealing with Yui a lot. Not a very friendly guy, if you ask me. But you ARE only _impersonating_ her after all … I don't suppose they'd make you attend any council meetings or anything."

"Humph." Usagi reached over and stabbed another roll.

Finally, she had had enough. Rei stood up, banging her fists on the table and glaring at her "lunch date". "For God sakes, Usagi! Could you just put DOWN the knife?" 

The café went awkwardly silent as quick glances and uneasy whispers arose around the two. Rei slowly sat down and shielded her face from curious eyes. "Lord, Usa. I am NEVER taking you out in public again," she hissed.

…………………

Reposted because I had to change something … xD Look to chapter 11 for more information regarding my stupidity. xD;; Thanks for reading~ Yours, Angel.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I don't even own plushies of any of the characters…!! ;-;

It hasn't been beta-read. Nothing's been done to it. And no matter how I edit it, it has once again fallen into Asia-chan's category of "cutesy". xD Feel free to be completely and brutally honest because chances are .. I'll agree with you. :DDD

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Chapter 1

Duo sighed as he snapped the top of the clipboard absentmindedly, glancing down at the audition sheets, one for each girl with plenty of room for comments. It was almost ridiculous. Not once in his life had Duo acted as a judge of any kind especially not in an audition filled with four gorgeous, blonde women at very marry-able ages. 

"I don't see why this has to be so detailed and well planned! Really! There're only four of them. How long could it possibly take?" he groaned as Quatre gave the thumbs up signal and retreated back to the control room for all of the building's hidden cameras. "I mean … what's with all the security cameras? Even in that bathroom? They _never_ put one in the bathroom! It's just gross." He snapped the top of the clipboard again and drummed out a short rhythm onto the plastic. 

Wufei paused to glance at him as he carried a box of small lasers that will be hidden and manned by Quatre into the room, preparing to hide them at strategic spots. "You're even more stupid than I take you for, Maxwell."

Duo rolled his eyes and propped his feet up onto the table in front of him, leaning onto the back two legs of the chair flippantly. "Give me a break, Wu-man. It's not as if some terrorist guy would come here, dress as a hot chick, and hold us all at gunpoint."

"You'd be surprised, Duo," Trowa muttered. He grabbed a clipboard and slid into the chair beside him. 

The braided pilot laughed. "Yes, yes. I'm sure there're always guys like Wufei around, willing to do that kind of thing."

He gave a loud yelp as Wufei strode up to him, grabbed his propped up legs and heaved him backwards. Trowa watched as Duo teetered precariously on the two legs of the chair before falling back with a muffled "oomph". Quatre rushed out of the control room, eyes wide. 

"Is he okay?"

Wufei scowled but had to admit he was a bit worried. Duo hadn't moved for the last thirty seconds. He walked over to the quiescent man who was still sitting in the chair as if it hadn't fallen at all. He peered down at Duo and pressed two fingers onto the pulse at the braided pilot's neck. Duo's eyes flew open. 

Wufei jumped and staggered back. 

"Man, Wu-man, you could've broken my back."

Wufei scowled at him. "It's a pity I didn't."

Duo blinked and glanced over at him from his vantagepoint on the ground. "And then what would you have done? How could you possibly get along without," Duo paused to puff his chest up a bit but failed miserably, "the God of Death?"

"Yes, yes. Next time I'll be sure to push you harder," Wufei mumbled to himself absentmindedly before walking out, carrying the now empty box with him to discard. 

…………………

"Y'know, Rei, you didn't have to drive me there simply to make sure I don't chicken out," Usagi grumbled loudly as she stared straight ahead, a distinctly annoyed expression marring her features. "I'm not a wuss."

Rei glanced over as her jaw fell. "Well, Usa, you're definitely smarter than you look."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

From the driver's seat, Rei laughed. "It means that I'm surprised you even caught on to the reason why I'm acting as your chauffeur."

Usagi crossed her arms huffily and wrinkled her nose. "What makes you think that I won't totally bomb the audition? After all, I obviously don't have Relena Darlian's political and oratory skills."

"Right. And you think anybody else does?" Rei rolled her eyes and glanced back to check her blind spot before switching lanes and exiting off of the highway. "We're almost there."

Groaning, Usagi covered her eyes with her hands and sobbed dramatically. "Please save me from this monster."

"This _monster_ is currently in control of the car going sixty miles per hour that you're sitting in, Usa." Rei narrowed her eyes and glared at her. They pulled into the parking lot of the standard office building, completely nondescript and parked. Rei's expression brightened dramatically. "Besides, that was some pretty realistic acting, Usa. You'll be the new Relena. I'm _sure_ of it."

This time, no sharp reply flew back. Rei glanced over to see Usagi tugging uneasily at the collar of the conservative blouse she had made her wear, staring with trepidation up at the building.

…………………

"Let's see now … what exactly are we supposed to do?" Duo cocked his head and raised an eyebrow at the evaluation sheet in front of him, turning it sideways as if trying to decipher some alien language. 

Hiiro glowered at him but chose not to reply. Duo, Trowa, and Wufei sat while he remained standing.

"All three of you will be evaluating the four women to see which one fits Relena's description, appearance, and personality more. Quatre will be behind the scenes in the control room."

Trowa glanced up at him. "And you? Where are you in all of this?"

Hiiro's face twisted into a dark scowl. "You think I want to be part of finding a replacement for Relena?"

Wufei snorted. "Oh, right. So instead you choose Maxwell to pick amongst the women. Maxwell the hormone driven freak. Maxwell the-"

"Okay, okay! I get it, Wu-man!"

"Wufei has a point. You are the Perfect Soldier, aren't you? You're the one without emotions. You'll obviously be the most objective out of all of us."

Hiiro stared down at the glass table and laid both hands, palms down, onto it, leaning. "I can't choose a replacement for her. It's like admitting she's dead." His voice was still that dark and chilling monotone but it was obvious from the way that he refused to look up that this was one of the few times Hiiro was actively showing a despairing and overpowering emotion. 

Duo stared at him, aghast, mouth slightly open and eyes wide, before coming up with something to say. "Well, Hiiro, we all could've done something to have prevented this disease … I mean … it's not entirely your fault."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean Yui doesn't carry most of the fault," Wufei muttered darkly. "That doesn't excuse him from being the main cause behind the woman's weakness."

Trowa jabbed Wufei in the ribs. "Don't listen to him. Wufei has never had any tact."

"I resent that."

"Then you resent the truth."

Hiiro looked up and took his hands off of the table. His steely eyes that burned with a wintry blue flame scorched all of them. "That's not the point."

Duo frowned. "That is very much so the point, Hiiro."

"You, Hiiro, must redeem yourself by finding a replacement for Miss Relena so that the ESUN can veer off the path of war. This will be your apology to Miss Relena." Trowa's clear, incisive eyes never left Hiiro's face. 

Several seconds ticked by before Hiiro's tense shoulders fell and he grabbed a clipboard. Duo let out a whoop. 

"All right, Hiiro! And remember, all of these girls are dying to become Relena so they can be with you 24-7! Man, sometimes I'm so jealous of you."

Hiiro didn't need to tell Duo to shut up. Wufei and Trowa did it for him.

…………………

"I don't know why I even bother to hang out with you, Rei. You get me in the worst situations and somehow, in the end, everything gets blamed on me." Usagi rolled her eyes and leaned against the mirrors that acted as the elevator's walls. The red light above them flashed from one number to the next.

Rei grinned. "Well you obviously can't live without me. For one thing, how will you ever find your way to the supermarket?"

Usagi's mouth fell open as she frowned. "T-that was only a one time deal! Besides, that map was _obviously_ misprinted."

"Right. Just like the one at college and the one we used in Detroit, and the one of your workplace, and the-"

"I get the point," she snapped. 

"Give it up, Usa. You haven't had any sense of direction since the day you were born."

The blonde sniffed and fussily straightened her blouse and skirt. The elevator door slid open. "Well then, lead the way."

Rei chuckled, strode out onto the lush carpet, and looked for the arrows directing them to the right room number.

…………………

"The appearance of the girl is on a one to ten scale, ten being the best match, one being the worst. Everything else is on a one to five scale, five being the best. You'll be grading each girl on personality, oratory skills, habits, hobbies, preferences, acting skills, and political acumen." 

Duo flipped boredly through the sheets on the clipboard, barely listening to Trowa's lecture. 

"Under the scale of appearance, there will be several categories based on the one to five scale. You'll have to note the details of her eyes, of her facial features, posture, bone structure, hair, and height. Other than that…" Trowa trailed off and glanced at Hiiro. 

"Each girl and most friends of that girl has already been sworn to secrecy in the case that she is not chosen but don't talk too freely or feed her any information until we have decided." Hiiro stared fixedly at Duo who made a face at him. "They should be here about now." 

Trowa stood up. "I'll go direct them in."

…………………

"Do you think it's _wise_ to just stroll in like this when you're obviously hated by nearly all five of the most feared men on earth?"

Rei shrugged and made a face. "It's not as if they can do anything to me. I mean they just went public as the pilots are few months back. The entire ESUN is watching their every move, waiting for them to display violent tendencies so that the Union can tighten the noose around their necks and _squeeze_ the life o-"

"Okay, okay! It was a yes or no question, Rei." Usagi's mildly annoyed expression softened and she glanced towards her friend. "But still. Would you mind staying outside of the room? Just to prevent complications?"

Rei's smile dropped a little and she nodded. 

"Hey! Are you two also here for the audition?"

"Yeah, we're-" Usagi glanced over her shoulder before her eyes widened and she turned around completely. Rei followed her action and gazed puzzledly at the girl. 

"Usagi? You okay?"

Her lips were slightly parted as she blinked rapidly. In front of her was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. "You don't happen to be in the modeling industry…do you?"

The other girl blinked and then quickly smiled. "I'm Minako Aino and … I've just recently entered it."

"Usagi Tsukino," she replied absentmindedly before striding up to the startled woman and walking around her, nodding and muttering to herself. Minako glanced at Rei uneasily who smiled helplessly. 

Finally, Usagi stopped in front of her and grabbed both of her hands excitedly. "You _have_ to let me take pictures of you someday, Minako!"

"S-sure…"

There was a loud smack as Rei slapped her forehead and resignedly headed towards the room.

…………………

Two girls had already arrived from the east entrance of the building, one Dorothy Catalonia and one April Winner. 

"Oh, man, of all the blonde girls in the world, two of the four had to be those two!" Duo lamented softly. "What did I do to deserve this punishment?" 

Trowa glanced up. "How is that a punishment?"

"Because, Maxwell can't hit on Winner's sister because Winner might get angry and Maxwell's too chicken to hit on Catalonia." 

Duo shot him a reproachful glare. "So _you're_ brave enough to flirt with her?"

"I don't _flirt_. It's disgraceful, just like you."

"Oh, yes, but with a certain blonde doctor it isn't?"

Wufei shot up off of his seat. "Are you insinuating that-"

Both Trowa and Duo grabbed a handful of his shirt and yanked him back down before either of the girls could notice. Wufei was still fuming by the time the door opened again and the last two possible impersonators stepped into the room. 

"Usagi Tsukino and Minako Aino," Hiiro read off. "We'll begin the screening now."

"I take back everything I said earlier. This is obviously going to be one of the brightest moments of my job as a Preventer," Duo whispered reverently.

"You are going according to the first letter of your last name. Minako Aino, you're first."

The blonde sat down uncertainly in the chair opposite of them and smiled. 

Trowa leaned forward over his clipboard. "First off, tell us about yourself."

…………………

Argh! I hate it so much. :x It's just so … _cutesy_. [Asia-chan comes up with the best adjectives. xDxD] Make it stooooopppp…!! ::dies::

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Gackt Camui: Lol … Zechs _is_ so much prettier than Relena. :x But maybe some of that could be attributed to the areas of expertise the manga artist has…? xD Hmm … try taking Relena, take the bangs, the little braids, the blonde hair, the blue eyes, the etc etc etc and getting CLAMP or Naoko Tekeuchi to draw her. I think perhaps the results would be different. xD [I feel like such a traitor saying this but some of the official pictures of any of the GW characters are a little … bleh. :x] Roflrofl … I didn't quite understand the last part of your review until after awhile … oh goodness … ::tries desperately to forget:: Lol … interesting perspective, Gackt-san … interesting perspective… xDxD

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C06 aka Lady Artemis: Relena being anorexic is selfish…? o_o ::makes mental note:: [I could use that… :D] Lol … as for the pairing … I actually don't have a preference at this point [but that could very well change. :D] sooo … there's really no telling who's going to be with Hiiro. :D I'm sorry I didn't email this chapter for you to edit. I'll be sure to email the next one. :DDD

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Serena Yuy: Lol … you sound sugar high. :D And I'm sure the anorexia bit would have to, at least a bit, be attributed to Hiiro. xD

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Sunshine Fia: "And we all know about Minako and cute guys!" roflrofl! :DDD I'd almost forgotten. xD And I'm not so sure the choosing of Relena would have anything to do with the judges' personal preferences … though it could interfere. :D However, the one who is chosen wouldn't necessarily be the one paired with Hiiro. :D

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Firefly Princess: ::blushes:: Actually … I'm not sure I have any "on" days. xDxD Scandalous is posted under Callisto6 [my lovely co-author. 3] And it's strange … the moment I mention that I often get urges to right … they kind of … urk … stopped. xDxD [maybe it's just due to the rising level of busy-ness. :x]


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If I owned GW or SM, I would gladly trade it now for Tylenol. Please. Lol. But sadly … that option isn't available to me. xD

Not as much humor … actually … very little. xD A bit depressing because, physically, I feel miserable. Haha. And it's long because I decided to go ahead and cover all four candidates in one chapter. xD

Sorry beta-readers for not sending this chapter to you guys! I hope you haven't abandoned me … lol. xD And please realize that I haven't abandoned you guys either. :D Once things get a little less rushed, I promise I'll send things over. :D Thank you all for being so incredibly understanding. ^^;

…………………

**Chapter 2**

Usagi seated herself between Dorothy Catalonia and April Winner, peeking almost fearfully up at the platinum blonde-haired woman to her right. 

"Y'know, my brother had always had great taste in friends," April chirped from her left. 

Usagi blinked puzzledly before realizing the meaning of her words. "Oh! Of course! You're Quatre Winner's sister!"

April smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! They're all a bit young for me but if my brother were gay, I would definitely choose one of them as a husband for him."

Usagi smiled uncertainly and gulped. _Too much information. "How can you say that so casually?"_

The other blonde laughed and winked. "Well wouldn't you agree?"

Usagi was at a loss for words. 

"Tell you about myself?" Minako blinked and glanced around. "Should I answer as me or as Miss Relena?"

"About yourself. This interview won't be a quiz to see how much you studied up on Relena Darlian's idiosyncrasies."

"Okay!" She tapped her chin thoughtfully and grinned. "My name is Minako Aino, I'm 5'4" and weigh 102 pounds. I work as a fashion and special events critic for Elle and in my spare time, I model." She paused and thought some more. "And I'm single."

Only Duo acknowledged the grin and deliberate wink with a laugh. 

"Right," Trowa nodded as he crossed the last t in the appearance comments. "Oratory and acting skills will be combined in one event." He shifted through the stack of papers in his lap and pulled one out from under the clip, handing it to Minako. She stared at it blankly. 

"It's a speech. Made not by Miss Relena but by Hiiro over there," He indicated with his head. "You can observe him for however long you wish and then read the speech as him."

Duo almost snickered as he saw Hiiro tense and shoot an annoyed scowl in Trowa's direction. 

"Doesn't that mean we'll have an advantage?" Dorothy Catalonia's bored voice broke through Minako's puzzled daze. "We'll have more time to observe Mr. Yui."

Trowa barely glanced at her. "We realize, Miss Catalonia, and will take that into consideration."

Hiiro frowned as the girl turned to stare at him and purposely turned to glare intently at the door. 

"Are you usually this tense, Mr. Hiiro?" He glanced at Minako at the sound of her small, curiosity-filled voice before looking away quickly, choosing not to answer. Nevertheless, he let his shoulders drop and relaxed his rigid spine. His throat hurt, a leaden weight sat on his head, and he felt faintly nauseas. Quatre had caught him taking Advil a few days back and had attributed the flu or cold or whatever it was to emotional stress but he hadn't answered. Hiiro tried to focus on the door but found his vision blearing on the edges.

He shouldn't be so weak. Never visibly weak. Never make her fearful or concerned. But never had he been in a room filled with five women, each with some physical characteristic of hers … her eyes, her smile, her hair, her hands…

"Are you okay, Mr. Hiiro?" He jumped as his eyes focused on a small hand not half a foot away from his face. Minako peered down at him. 

"I'm fine." He looked back in the direction of his three friends and met uneasy frowns and unsmiling faces. "Nothing's wrong," he reaffirmed. 

"If you're sure, Mr. Hiiro…" Her voice trailed off and she gazed at him with a faint frown. It was the same worried look. The same look that Relena gave him whenever he pulled all-nighters, whenever he skipped meals. It was the look that had constantly marred her face in the early months of the psychological illness. This girl … this Minako's furrowed brow and wavering voice … He fought to control his breathing.

"Okay. I think I'm ready." She turned away and smiled confidently at the rest of the judges. Hiiro stared at her back as she walked to her chair and turned to face them. It was gone now. That brief moment of incomparable similarity had fled and in this new moment, Minako Aino was once again just a fashion critic, a model, a confident and charismatic stranger. He almost sighed with relief.

She cleared her throat and tried her hardest to form a serious expression. 

"There is only one planet in the solar system inhabited by life, the Earth ... A.C. 195. With the development of colonies, human beings have used the new resources and their own strength to create new lands. However, at most, they are poor imitations of their mother, the Earth. What meaning was there in building the colonies? How about just to further develop technology so that on the Earth, human beings would lead more comfortable lives? Aren't humans living in these imitations of Earth holding on to impossible hopes? With no threats from nature, their lives became more stable than those of people on Earth. Endless expansion seemed to promise eternal existence for humans. Wasn't there an age when it was unforgivable to think of life starting from zero in the universe? But there is no way that the colonies, no, that human beings, could forget the Earth. What has the technology for the development of colonies done for the Earth? The most pursued advances on the Earth are those resulting in military strength. Humans have never been able to break away from their habits of destruction. Now the colonies are studying war technology…" 

She had lowered her voice purposely and there was a certain trail sincerity in her voice that would have resonated and touched hearts if the small conference room were an auditorium filled with members of the press and millions of diplomats. Trowa nodded to himself. But it wasn't Hiiro he pictured reciting the speech. Her eyes sparkled with optimism and a countless number of ideals. It was as if Quatre were reciting the speech.

Wufei scribbled away blindly as he maintained eye contact with her. The speech ended and he glanced down at his paper to find uneven and crooked lines. 

"Thank you, Miss Aino. There will just be a few more random and personal questions before this screening is over."

She nodded and sat down, once again smiling. Duo stared at her thoughtfully. She was obviously not used to being serious and though her lips hadn't been curved up in a smile during the speech, it never left her eyes. 

"First of all, what type of person would you classify yourself as?" Wufei started.

"Let's see … I'm pretty friendly, definitely optimistic … but most of the people I work with would say I have an incredibly hard time being serious." Minako smiled sheepishly.

Duo went next. "What do you value most in life?"

There was a slight pause as she thought. "Life itself."

"What types of movies do you usually watch?" Trowa looked up from his analysis chart to stare at her.

"Mostly … romantic comedies, I guess."

Hiiro glanced at the last question on the sheet. "On a level of one to ten, what would you rate your knowledge of current events as?"

Minako laughed and answered immediately. "Three."

"You may-"

"Wait! One last question," Duo jumped in quickly. "Would you be willing to spend day and night with Hiiro?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Duo say Hiiro jerk, clench his jaw, and curls his fingers to form fists. He laughed nervously.

Again, the response was instantaneous. "Is sex involved?"

Duo's loud, uncontrollable laughter broke the long stretch of frozen silence. "S-s-s-s-sex?!" he garbled out before collapsing to the floor with laughter. Wufei glanced uneasily in Hiiro's direction to find the pilot's face a volatile mauve. The muscles in his arms and neck stood out starkly as he clenched his fists and jaw fiercely.

Minako's previously puzzled expression slowly turned into one of utter mortification as realization dawned on her and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that! I-I-I was just making sure I didn't have to … that is…" 

"Don't worry, Miss Aino, we all understand." Trowa's mouth twitched up in a smile. "Well … maybe all except the hooting idiot over there." He nodded in Duo's direction and raised an eyebrow. "And no, sex will not be involved."

"T-then I'd be willing." The flush on her cheeks still hadn't vanished. 

"Thank you Miss Aino. Please stay until we decide the results after all the interviews."

"O-of course." Still flustered, she got up and took the empty seat in the row of blondes. 

Usagi contained her laughter and smiled up at her. "Don't worry, Minako. Anybody could have done the same."

When Duo's laughter subsided and Hiiro face was no longer that frightening burgundy, Trowa looked up and called the next person. "Miss Catalonia?"

As the steely-eyed blonde strode to the chair, sat, and gave them all a feral smile, Duo's smiling countenance melted away and was replaced by one of ashen fear.

…………………

Duo frowned at his chart as Dorothy sat down after reciting Hiiro's speech. Like Minako, the sincerity was there. The strong belief in what she was saying was there. In fact, the belief was almost _too strong. He shuddered. As the blonde was speaking, he envisioned Wufei in her place. Wufei with Dorothy Catalonia's voice. Just the memory was making him shiver. But it was undeniable. The same kind of quasi-fanaticism was there._

"What type of person would you classify yourself as?"

"Cynical."

Wufei paused and waited for elaboration but silence had resumed. 

Duo peered up at her uneasily. "What do you value most in life?"

Dorothy shrugged. "Material things that only exist in life." Again, the answer was short and abrupt.

"What type of movies do you usually watch?" Trowa found himself dreading the answer.

"I usually don't watch movies."

It wasn't a great answer but at least it wasn't as freakish as he had expected. He sighed and motioned for Hiiro to ask his question.

"Rate your knowledge of current events."

"Ten."

Duo raised an eyebrow. Well one thing's for sure – Dorothy Catalonia was confident.

"And spending day and night with Hiiro?"

Dorothy paused and thought it over. "Only in these circumstances. Only for Miss Relena."

Duo sighed with relief. "Thank you Miss Catalonia. You may return to your seat."

Trowa glanced down at the list again. "Miss Usagi Tsukino?"

…………………

"You will have an unlimited amount of time to study Mr. Hiiro before commencing."

Usagi nodded and turned her eyes to the silent man to her left. "Do you care a lot about Miss Relena?" she asked in a quiet and contained voice. 

Hiiro started. "Why does it matter?" 

She voiced the best excuse she could think of. "It'll help me portray you in the speech."

The room was deathly silent. The ticking of the clock echoed strangely, dramatic and almost supernatural.

"I care about her because I'm her bodyguard."

Usagi stared at him and blurted, "Do you usually hide your feelings like this, Mr. Yui?"

He frowned. Yes didn't seem like a suitable answer but neither did no. He settled with the in between. "Hn."

Usagi sighed. "I guess I'm not Miss Relena, huh? I'm sure only she can get an answer to that question." She turned back to the others. "I'm ready."

"…They can't forget the Earth. They cannot forget the past. Human beings, those animals that came to possess so much strength, began to think about controlling a whole planet. The existence of life on a planet is after all only a matter of accidental chance. Humans can think all they want, but they can't change anything. The time humans have spent in space has been wasted. It has all been nothing but a dream. The lie of our artificial living space, and the lie of pacifism, do nothing but give birth to more fighting than ever before. War claims many lives, and human beings have never forgotten that sorrow, yet they never try to give up fighting. The blood and tears are spilled, to be considered nothing more than decorations for some ceremony. The history of many ages is told through its wars. Saying we fight for peace is a pretty lie that has been repeated over and over in the past. The colonies are no different from the Earth that builds up military strength to preserve peace. They are the same. We live, and rise up, through the spilling of blood..." 

Her eyes moved along the lines of the speech, glancing up periodically to enforce a point, but never once did she dare look towards Hiiro. He focused on her voice, her posture but their previous conversation still nagged him incessantly, repeating over and over in his head like one of Duo's high-pitched, never-ending songs. Her voice was determined and again the honesty and purity of belief was carried over beautifully, just like the previous candidates, but there was something starkly different. A small smile graced her face and a slight lilt accentuated her voice but despite the small indications of cheerfulness, an almost unnoticeable frown appeared and disappeared, flitted and fluttered. Her eyes were a melancholy blue and though there was hope in her voice, a certain note of resignation emanated from her posture.

Hiiro almost choked on the gasp he forced back down his throat. A vision of mid-length honey blonde hair and smooth sky blue-eyes replaced the figure of the short blonde in front of him. She gave the speech like Relena. But not the Relena that the world knew. Not the Relena that was hopeful, content, and ambitious. She gave the speech like the Relena who was already uncontrollably spiraling downward to depression and anorexia. The Relena who spoke as if it were the last time she could announce her feelings before being shut away for a decade. In the last speech she had made publicly, her voice had resonated with despair, defeat, and dubiosity but what was decidedly sorrowful about it was the smallest, microscopic trace of hope in that strong voice. In the way she tried to hide her quivering hands.

"Thank you, Miss Usagi," Trowa murmured softly. "Please sit."

Wufei cleared his throat and spoke, his voice slightly off-key from disuse. "What type of person would you classify yourself as?"

"A realist."

He nodded and penciled it in.

Duo smiled and cocked his head. "What do you value most in life?"

She bit her lip and netted her eyebrows. "I guess … time. Personal goals and aspirations … friends…"

"Types of movies?"

Usagi laughed embarrassedly. "Romantic tragedies, I guess."

Trowa nodded. It was definitely the impression she had given him.

"Knowledge of current events."

Again, the embarrassed laugh. "Three."

Trowa smiled at her. "You and Minako can easily become good friends." At her questioning look, he explained, "Enough similarities to get along and enough differences to balance each other out." 

"Time with Hiiro?"

She almost laughed. The questions were getting more and more efficient in the number of words. 

"Time with Mr. Congeniality over there, huh?" she mused. "I suppose. As long as I'm not completely restricted and can still photograph in my spare time."

"Thank you, Miss Usagi. Lastly … Miss April Winner?"

…………………

It was obvious from April Winner's presentation that she had been one of the results of the Winner family's almost genetic aptitude for oration and politics. It was also obvious that though certain aspects of Relena were present in her, she gave off the aura of an older woman despite that she was only three years Relena's senior. The experience was different and though the speech captivated everybody in the room with as much energy and force as Quatre's and though her answers were thorough and, at times, amusing, it was also clear that April's personality landed the farthest from Relena's on the target.

Dorothy Catalonia was also ruled out. Hiiro had difficulty believing that any of his comrades would consider her having the patience to maintain a Relena mask for more than two hours. It just wasn't her style.

Which brought it down to the two girls with whom he was least familiar with. Minako Aino and Usagi Tsukino. One represented the optimistic, hopeful side of the Relena he had come to know exceedingly well and the other was the flip side of the coin – the noticeably less hopeful, realistic side of Relena.

If only the two were one person; that person would _be Relena._

…………………

Ack! Finally done. :D ::happy beyond belief:: Wrote this in one sitting … with various distractions … and took approximately three hours. xD It's more depressing, more emotional, less frivolous than previous chapters … partially because of Hiiro's feelings and partially because I personally have that sore throat and that headache. Lol. It's pretty long … I tried to keep the details there as each candidate passed … but, of course, the focus was on Minako, Usagi, and Hiiro. And my hands felt numb by the time I got to April. xD Sorry, minna-san. :x I should be slapped upside the head with the showing vs. telling rule. xD

**Notes:**

1. The speech that was used for the audition was Hiiro's in [so I'm told] episode 18. Got it off of gundamwing.net, I believe. 

**Firefly Princess:** Witty … lol. Somehow I imagine that calling this witty correlates to calling Hiiro extroverted. xD But it could happen! Lol … thanks for all those compliments! I'll keep them whether they're deserved or not. Heh heh … and sorry if my pointers were a bit general … I can't exactly say I'm qualified to give specific pointers … xD 

**Xixi****: Lol … do you mean Duo is like, personality-wise, your friend or that she portrays him as … incredibly "cutesy" as well…? xD Either way, I want to meet this friend. :DDD**

**Venus of Love:** I really have to admit I have never seen the Star Season … lol. It's definitely OOC … but I'll try my hardest to explain it … without pulling out the melodrama. xD If it helps … despite my long streak of H/U fics … I really have no preference regarding this fic. xD

**C06 aka Lady Artemis:** Lol … I scrounged for blondes. xD And I know too little about Haruka to put her as one of the matches. :x But can you imagine it…? Lolol. Well … now that I've explained how Hiiro views Minako and Usagi … it didn't turn out the way I'd imagined it. [since I didn't plan this … one of the few fics I hope _not_ to plan … but that'll probably end up changing. :x] Chemistry…? Lol … it seems as if I focused mostly on Hiiro and Relena. xD Largely because I have a _need for an emotional side for this fic … and the Hiiro and Relena circumstance is just too tasty to let go. xDxD I feel so evil for not emailing this to you … but I just want to get it out as quickly as possible due to the lack of time … but if you see anything wrong, feel free to comment and I'll most definitely change it. :D_

**Allyna****: Surprisingly … I'd considered whether or not there'd only be one Relena. And I still haven't decided. xD [I'm one of those wishy-washy types…]. It'd actually be very interesting if neither Minako nor Usagi got the role … though perhaps a bit too late. :x**

**Liquid Ice:** Revolutionize is too strong of a term … lol. xD It makes me sound … revolutionary. Lol. Voting might be a bit messy … but it'd be interesting to see the results. xD Considering alternate endings … still undecided. xD 

**Crystalgem2003:** Thank you so much! :DDD Relena is still alive … lol. She's just depressed and has anorexia … ["just" seems a bit inappropriate in that sentence… xD] So, being depressed and weak due to lack of food, it'd be a pretty big shock to the world if they see their "beacon of peace" in that state. :x But … that's still better than having her dead, I suppose … kinda … ^^;

**Timeless Enigma:** As I mentioned before … no preferences and no decisions [yet] on exactly which couple. :D But I'd have to concede that there are a much larger number of H/U fics … to which I've contributed. xD

**Gackt**** Camui [the EoL]: Lol. I definitely agree that Duo and Wufei make a great pair … lol … in fact … it's probably one of the few yaoi couples I support … haha. Wow … everybody has seen so much of Sailor Moon! ::sinks further in seat:: Assume, assume! It gives me ideas. :D**

**Angellus**** Lee: Haha … Relena is just really really sick. Thanks bunches. :DDD**

**Kazzeh**** Sodapop: Lots and lots of Minako. :D Lots and lots of Usagi. Lots and lots of Hiiro. Want more Duo, dangit. xDxD Sorry for the late update. :x Due to a mixture of procrastination, ambivalence, and chaotic-ness. xD**

**Datajana**: Lol … that's always been my predicament … whether or not to read fics that have just started or wait until it's all finished. xD But I can't control myself so … I read them. And then get depressed when they don't get updated. Lol. Which explains my fondness for one-shots. xDxD Thanks bunches for the review. :D

**Rheia**: xDxD I shall love you for life for calling this … urk … _this _"funny". :DDD And have you been updating…? ::waves disapproving finger:: ;D


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. And even if I did, I wouldn't admit it because this chapter is quite pathetic… :x

Again, not beta-read, one-sitting, strange mood swing, last minute chapter that I rushed through partially out of guilt. xD It's actually quite bad … both the rushing and the chapter itself. xDxD [admittedly, I don't like it at all .. xD] But here you go. I'll edit it when I feel like it. Lol. [personally experiencing strange mood so … beware of strange actions and reactions in chapter. :D]

**Chapter 3**

"It's simple enough, isn't it? Just four girls … and we have an odd number of voters. Majority rules." Duo shrugged and pushed himself up onto the desk in the corner of the room. He swung his legs restlessly. "Let's get this over quickly, okay? I have a date with this cute chick a-"

Wufei slammed his fist onto the table. Quatre jumped.

"If you didn't understand, that translates to shut up, Maxwell." He casually brushed a loose strand of charcoal hair away from his eyes and resumed a neutral stance, arms crossed over his chest. 

"No cruelty to animals, Wufei," Trowa reprimanded, a small smile settling over his features.

Duo blinked and heaved a heavy sigh, pouting sulkily. "No fair, you guys. Two against one."

Wufei opened his mouth to retort.

"Enough." Four pairs of eyes swung in the direction of the voice. "Decide now. Before they get impatient in there." Hiiro nodded towards the closed door leading to the adjacent room. He stood to the side, a bit of a distance away from the group. His voice was clear and without dynamics and his stony expression offered no room for questions or complaints.

Trowa cleared his throat, the smile gone from his face and leaned forward in his seat, careful to not lean too far as to get in the way of Duo's idly swinging legs. "I think we can all agree that it comes down to Miss Minako Aino and Miss Usagi Tsukino."

"Well … Dorothy seemed pretty dedicated out there too, hmm?" Duo turned and shot Hiiro a wicked grin. "I'm sure Hiiro wouldn't mind spending some quality time with her…"

Quatre swallowed uneasily and decided he didn't like how Duo intoned "quality time" and from the way Hiiro's face froze and posture stiffened, it was pretty obvious that he didn't appreciate the tone either. 

"Accepting Dorothy Catalonia as Miss Relena's replacement would be like accepting you." His cold, flat voice drained the statement of any humor it could have contained. 

Quatre shifted uncomfortably in his seat next to Trowa, the notes on each candidate crinkling in his lap, and glanced from one tense, cheerless face to the next. "Well … from what I've read … I think Miss Usagi would be the better choice. She seems to be a better match for Miss Relena and I'm sure she'd be dedicated enough to carry the role through successfully." 

Trowa nodded thoughtfully in agreement. "Miss Usagi would definitely be able to fulfill the responsibilities we require of her."

"Hmm … Trowa, and Wufei have the same cumulative scores for the two…" Quatre shifted through the sheets some more.

"I don't think Usagi represents Relena though … I mean … she seemed so dejected when reading the speech … Minako's character is much closer to Relena's…" Duo paused to struggle with putting into words how he felt. "That is … Minako has Relena's hope and belief in the goodness of mankind … and that's the aspect of Relena that the masses love the most, right?"

Wufei shook his head. "I can't believe this…" He shot an incredulous look towards Duo. "Not only did Maxwell sound decently intelligent … I'd have to say I agree with him. Aino's optimism is similar to Darlian's. That's always been the defining trait of that woman … her foolish optimism and faith."

There was a pause and drift into silence that nobody sought to pierce. Quatre continued shifting through the papers, pausing to read and nod, contemplating. 

"So." Trowa's smooth, cool voice seemed gratingly loud. "Hiiro? You're the tie-breaker."

Four heads turned to the side, Duo from his position on top of the desk, Wufei while leaning against it, Quatre and Trowa from their respective seats opposite of Duo, and surveyed the last, isolated member of their motley group. He didn't look up from the ground, eyes focused intently on something nobody else could discern. Only at Duo's prodding "Hiiro?" did he mutter a short, "I heard you."

The headache was back, much worse than before, and the gray carpet of the floor came in and out of focus. He wanted to turn away from their curious eyes and lean his head against the cool, plaster wall but that would make them worry. There was no need to make them worry. 

He hated responsibility. It was suffocating him. Its disembodied hands reached out for him and latched onto his neck, nails digging vengefully into smooth flesh. He wanted to give up struggling for breath and let the boulder on his chest crush his ribs and tear through his lungs.

It was almost as if he were a little kid, peering wide-eyed into a toy store and desiring for two toys with the equal amount of fervor. Two toys among which he could only choose one. Hiiro shook his head. He felt so juvenile.

"Ah! Hiiro!" There was a nauseating swing of attentions as the focus turned to Quatre. He looked up, baby blue eyes meeting Hiiro's almost black ones. A small, uncertain smile formed over his angelic features as he held up two sheets of paper. "Your cumulative score for the two of them…" He glanced down, hesitating, and checked his math. "They're different."

"Eh?! They're unequal?" Duo slid off the desk and leaned over to study the papers, eyes wide. 

Quatre nodded, head bowed again, and scanned the two sheets of paper. "The scores add up to … forty and forty-six. A large difference."

…………………

April leaned back and stretched, sighing happily. "I think it'll come down to you and Minako over there." She nodded knowingly at Usagi's blank face. 

She shook her head. "But … what about you and Miss Catalonia?" 

Dorothy laughed shortly as Minako peered over curiously. "Don't be ridiculous. There's only one idiot in that group and since majority will decide, I'm sure they'll make the right decision." 

"Idiot, huh?" Minako giggled. "Does Duo always act that way?"

Dorothy laughed again, the bitter sound twisted with sarcasm. "I wasn't referring to Mr. Maxwell. At a time like this, the idiot is obviously Mr. Yui."

"What? Why? He didn't seem unreasonable." Usagi leaned forwards to meet Dorothy's icy eyes. 

"Hiiro Yui is not in his right state of mind." April quirked her mouth up in a small, sardonic smile when Usagi turned to look at her. "This is only the second time that something affected him so deeply. That the wound was so close to his heart."

"Mr. Yui cares a lot about Miss Relena, huh?" Minako sighed. "I wonder how he feels…"

"Probably blames it all on himself." Dorothy snorted derisively. "And rightly so." 

Usagi blinked puzzledly. "But Mr. Yui couldn't possibly do something like that … he's not cruel."

The platinum-haired woman rolled her eyes. "That may be so but Hiiro Yui is what psychologists like to call passive aggressive. He hurts people through the actions he doesn't do."

Both Minako and Usagi uttered a simultaneous, soft, "Oh." 

"It's a big sacrifice." April's bright voice shattered the pregnant silence and dispelled the lingering phantasms of pity. "If you accept this role, that is. You'll be giving up a segment of your life in order to become somebody else. And more likely than not, you won't be publicly recognized or anything. I'm sure they'd like to keep this as contained as possible."

"I see," Minako murmured quietly. "I'm not so sure I can accept it then…" She frowned to herself and closed her eyes. "I don't think I'm that unselfish."

Usagi laughed. "I'm pretty sure I'm not that unselfish. But…"

The door opened. Quatre was the first to step out, papers in hand. He rewarded each of them with a small smile. "Sorry for the long wait. We have the results."

…………………

She was bored beyond all definitions of being bored. Rei sighed and continued her idle flipping through the Glamour magazine, glancing approvingly at a photograph Usagi had did for Chanel. A photograph that she had glanced approvingly at twenty-three times in twenty-three different fashion magazines. And that was after the six rides up and down the building in the elevator. And after chatting with the cute receptionist at the front of the office building and conning him into buying her lunch. 

They must realize that she had a life! And if only for that reason, they should have the decency to hurry along with the auditions. After all, she only had two months or so to get that story and there was only so much naïve, inexperienced Usagi can get out of Hiiro Yui in a month. Rei shook her head and had to admit her expectations were not high. 

What if Usagi couldn't get her the facts? She didn't want to think about the possibility of having to go about the country and hunt down Miss Relena Darlian.

…………………

"After much deliberation," Quatre started, "we decided that it would be best to have a double." 

Minako looked up curiously. "A double?"

"Yes. It's quite common among celebrities nowadays. They have somebody act as their twin and follow them around. It's a tactic in order to confuse hordes of fans," Trowa explained. "In this case, we decided on both Miss Minako Aino and Miss Usagi Tsukino so that in each situation, we have both halves of Miss Relena and we can alternate roles as we see fit."

"Both halves of Miss Relena…" Usagi murmured to herself. 

"I'm … I'm not so sure I'm willing to do this." The room went deathly silent. Minako had stood up and was staring at the floor, long blonde hair falling into her face, blocking any view of her profile and bangs shadowing her eyes. "I'm not that unselfish. I can't devote so much of my time … and not get anything in return." She trailed off before adding in a soft whisper, "I'm sorry."

Usagi stared up at her. "Mina…ko." The shocked silence continued. Hiiro was the last to step through the doorway and quietly closed the door after him. Usagi pursed her lips with determination and stood up as well. "I think that … I feel the same as Miss Minako." 

Minako's head jerked up as she turned to stare at Usagi's resolved profile.

"It doesn't matter."

All eight voices chorused a single word: "What?"

"Hiiro, are you out of your mind? What do you mean it doesn't matter? Of course it matters!" Duo squawked. Hiiro's bland expression never wavered. 

"It doesn't matter what you feel. You only have two choices: either comply with us voluntarily or be forced into it. Our decision is final. We have your phone numbers and will contact you when we decide to start the training. You may leave now." He took the papers back from Quatre.

"M-Mr. Hiiro?"

Blank blue eyes turned to Minako. Her expression was faintly fearful and she bit her bottom lip nervously. 

"What … what if we are unable to comply? What if our jobs demands for us to-"

He shook his head impatiently. "That would not be a possibility. We have informed your bosses to allow you to-"

"What she means is," Usagi interrupted bluntly, "what if _we _refuse to comply. What if we refuse to act like Miss Relena." She glared at him but he remained expressionless only giving away his annoyance by the slight pursing of his lips. 

"Then we," Hiiro paused to indicate the four Preventers around him, "will make this ordeal insufferably difficult for you." He turned and returned to the adjacent room. 

"Harsh, huh?" Minako breathed, shoulders dropping as she let go of her previous tension. "But I suppose it makes sense. After all … once we think of what may happen if Miss Relena doesn't show up in public soon…"

Usagi continued glaring venomously at the closed door. "I think," she started slowly, "that Hiiro Yui is one of those people that you can't feel indifferent towards. That is … you either like him or you hate him…"

April nodded. "I agree."

"Then question is … are you going to be one of the few to actually like him?" Dorothy shot her a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

………………….

Four pages … not a bad amount but nothing to be proud of. :x And though I realize quality is of far greater value than quantity … the quality of this chapter is pretty poor so I decided to fall back onto quantity. xD I feel much better … from the cold, that is, so this chapter wasn't as depressing … or at least … I don't think it is. xD But I felt kind of blank when I wrote this … like my senses were dulled … so … it's bare. It's not descriptive and does not provoke contemplation. Sadly. Not to say the previous ones did… xDxD Oh well.

**Autumn Ice:** Ack! I know, I know … I was cringing at the profuse amounts of dialogue too … though I think I did it again in this chapter. xD Thanks for the comments though! :DDD

**Liquid Ice:** Lol … cruel, Ice-san, cruel ... forcing ideas upon others. xD Actually the speeches were two halves of one speech. xD They combine to make up the speech Hiiro made in episode 18 or so. :D I just didn't want to bore everybody by pasting it twice and instead separated it… ^^; Usagi was a bit more prominent in this chapter but I think that was accidental … lol. Or maybe my subconscious…? x_x Lol … I'm not sure I have favorites anymore … xD

**C06 aka Lady Artemis:** Hiiro? Lovestruck? Hmm … maybe with Relena. ^___~ But that's all I really see … lol. Oh dang … I wanted an even competition … so I'm going to have to work harder to make the two couples seem equally likely, huh? ^___~ Actually there were several mistakes … I'm just too lazy to go back and fix it … maybe later. Lol. I'm relieved that you didn't care about editing … :D And sadly, I have to admit that this really isn't all too original. ;-;

**Jupiter Angel:** Lol … I used to read and review during school … but now fanfiction.net is blocked by the school computers. xD And … oh my gosh … a three way between Hiiro, Usagi, and Minako? LOL! That is tempting. ;D

**Kolishar**** Jackie-chan Benito: I updated! In one week! :D It's not a great chapter but…did I mention that I updated in one week? :D**

**LA2:** Lol … "I feel as if I'm a little kid…" Nice imagery. xD But thank you! Even if the question was just kind of stuck in there … xD I'm glad you found it funny. :D

**Serena Yuy:** It seems as if my favorite type of Hiiro is sad Hiiro … lol. xD He's so fun to write about. :DDD Still haven't decided … lol. Check back in a year. xD

**Gackt**** Camui: 01 x 02 = yum. xDxD Well … at least your assuming tangent would amuse me…! And I'm sure I'll be able to twist some kind of warped idea out of it. xD I think I have a reason for Usagi's realism … haha. Hope. Wah! The all-time Usagi fan supports Minako? Lol … it's like the world's flip-flopped. xD But like I said to Lady Artemis … I'm going to have to change that. ;D **

**Venus of Love:** Ack! Sorry … substantially less Minako and Hiiro in this chapter … a whole lot of Hiiro and Duo … lol. xD Actually … any review is a good review … lol. xD I'm striving to make both couples seem equally likely … so far I'm not succeeding, huh? Lol … thanks for the analysis. :D I really needed to organize things and you did it for me. :DDD

**Kazzeh**** Sodapop: Less everybody in general in this chapter … lol … well … maybe minus Duo … and Hiiro. :D**

**Angel131:** Being indecisive, I still haven't decided … lol. :D Thanks for the review. :DDD


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

Warning: Yes, minna-san, this can only be classified as a filler chapter. xD Due to my getting high off of Prince of Tennis. [which inspired the main events of this whole chapter. :DDD]

…………………

"The concept itself is very simple. In order to become Miss Relena, we will have to work on three aspects. One is your way of moving about, the second is your personality, and the last is your political know-how. There is of course the fourth category, your appearance, but we have specialists for that." Trowa smiled placidly at the two dumbfounded women in front him. They looked overwhelmed. 

It was early Monday morning, 6:00, just a bit after sunrise and nobody seemed truly awake except Trowa and Quatre, both of whom had consumed large amounts of tea at around 3:30 a.m. Usagi and Minako had been contacted over the weekend and ordered to come to St. Gabriel Institution's gym with comfortable clothes and shoes. 

"We'll start with the physical training for today." Usagi decided Trowa's smile was way too calm. "As you both probably know, Relena was born a princess and raised as a diplomat's daughter. This required some extensive training in etiquette and poise. We'll start with the walking." 

"Where is Maxwell?" Wufei asked crankily, glancing over at Trowa through half-lidded eyes. His hair was in its usual tight ponytail but it looked far from orderly, bits of it sticking out in haphazard places. "He's supposed to have the materials."

Quatre blinked. "Oh, right. When Trowa and I were driving here, I saw him when we passed a nearby Starbucks."

Trowa nodded and muttered, "He had a dozen frappuccinos in front of him too…"

"I'm here! I'm here!"

All six present people turned to the gym door. Duo walked in, smiling cheerily and lugging a bulky, oddly-shaped bag. "We're about to start the walking exercises, right?"

"You do have everything … don't you?" Trowa stared suspiciously at the nondescript bag. 

"Of course!" He bent down to search through it, half of his body disappearing from view. "Here!" Usagi blinked as Duo thrust five good-sized textbooks into her hands and grinned at her before handing another five to Minako. "I was afraid that you guys might get bored or something so … I decided we should all participate in these exercises! It'll make it like a race!" He beamed at the six people in front of them. 

"Maxwell, you idiot! I don't want to train myself to walk like a woman!" 

"Calm down, Wufei," Trowa ordered absentmindedly, one hand keeping a careful hold on the back of the Chinese pilot's shirt. "Duo has a point. It'll make this much more interesting."

Quatre smiled weakly. "I-It'll be fun," he offered uncertainly. 

Hiiro crossed his arms stubbornly and openly glared at Duo. "The coffee's getting to your brain. I'm not doing it."

"No way, Yui! If I have to do it, so do you!"

"No."

Duo pouted at him, expression faintly thoughtful before brightening. "Hiiro, do you remember that picture of you and Relena dancing that we all know is in your bedside drawer?" He grinned to himself as Hiiro visibly stiffened. "And you know how the tabloids haven't gotten hold of-"

"Shut up, Duo. I'll do it." Hiiro frustratedly made a mental note to move the picture.

"Okay, ladies! Then we're ready to start." He sifted through the bag and came back up with five books for each of the pilots as well as a clipboard and several sheets of paper. "It's simple. The first exercise requires everybody to balance two books on their heads and walk to the end of the gym and back with correct posture. We'll increase the number of books gradually. Trowa can judge since we all know he's very capable being an acrobat and all…" Both Wufei and Hiiro shot the tall pilot grudging glances. 

"Through the activities of today, we will keep a running score sheet with ten being the best score and zero the worst. At the end of the day, the three people with the least scores will have to eat the dinners Trowa and I cook for them." Duo's grin was almost devious. "Well, how 'bout it, hmm?"

Whoever wasn't awake previously was now.

Minako looked around at the frozen, ashen faces and frowned puzzledly. "I don't get it … shouldn't a free dinner be a reward?"

Usagi turned to stare at her incredulously. "Just imagine, Minako … _Duo's cooking."_

Duo laughed. "Usagi's right. Even I'd do anything to escape my and Trowa's cooking."

"I'm offended, Duo," Trowa returned calmly. "My cooking is good for the body. It's your burnt food that is carcinogenic and has too much oil."

"At least burnt food has taste," Quatre chuckled softly. "But I'm curious … I'd like to try both of your cooking." 

"You're suicidal, Winner," Wufei muttered. Quatre laughed sheepishly in reply. 

Duo bowed flirtatiously. "So shall we get started? Ladies?"

Trowa smugly sat down and balanced the clipboard on his legs, penciling in everybody's names. "Remember, speed isn't key here. Posture and balance is in order to achieve the completely poised look Miss Relena has. Everybody go ahead and put two books on top of your heads."

"I will _not eat your cooking, Maxwell," Wufei whispered vehemently as they waited for Trowa to give the signal to start. _

"But if you do, I'll make sure it's extra crispy, just for you," he retorted and shot Wufei a crooked smile. He laughed as Wufei shot him a heavy-lidded glare.

"Start!"

Six people started to precariously walk forward. 

"I want to try their food though…" Quatre mused to himself. He turned and beamed at the person to his right. "Hiiro, how 'bout it?"

"No, thanks." Quatre's smile didn't drop as he easily continued down the court, head high. To his left, Hiiro was having a much more difficult time as he concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other while minimizing the movement of his head. 

"Quatre, I thought you liked their cooking. Why're you trying so hard?" Usagi questioned curiously from his right. 

 "I do like their cooking," Quatre smiled, "but I like watching people suffer more." The smile never wavered.

Usagi's face froze and she felt her right eye tick. Losing her concentration, she gave a short yelp as she lost her footing and fell backwards. She wailed as two books tumbled down on her.

Quatre blinked down at her. "Just kidding."

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Not fair! I was tricked by sadistic Quatre over there!" 

Trowa bit back a laugh. "It doesn't matter. You have to be able to keep your cool even in situations like that."

She groaned as she got to her feet and walked over to Trowa, peering curiously over his shoulder. "So what's my score?"

"A three. Because you made it about a third of the way and had no major posture errors. Don't worry, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose, Miss Usagi." He glanced up at her curiously when she didn't reply. 

Her eyes were focused completely on one person, lips parted slightly in wonder. "Wow … what I'd give for my camera now…" 

"Miss Minako is exceedingly good at this. I'm sure she's had training as a model though so she's quite a bit ahead of you in this category." The remaining five people had turned and were heading back towards them.

Usagi shook her head slowly. "It's not just that. I know Minako has had training but a part of this is also inherent and she definitely has the modeling genes…" She turned to the other side of the gym. "Same goes for Quatre."

Trowa laughed. "Wufei and Hiiro obviously don't have it in them but they have received physical training. Duo is doing fairly well. It's actually kind of surprising."

"Still. I think Minako will be the victor of this round." 

Trowa tapped the pencil on the clipboard and nodded thoughtfully. "I agree with you. Minako deserves a ten."

Duo finished first and beamed at the two of them. "So, Trowa, what're the scores?"

The tall brunette stared down at the score sheet contemplatively. "I think it will come down to eights for Hiiro and Wufei, a nine for you, a nine and a half for Quatre and a ten for Minako."

"Biased, aren't we, Trowa?" Duo winked. Trowa didn't reply but instead stood up as everybody reached the end and Wufei spitefully threw the books onto the floor. 

"That was the most moronic, useless thing I've ever done." 

"I agree," Hiiro replied blandly, dropping his books onto the gym floor as well. 

Minako blinked quizzically. "I actually thought it was kind of fun…"

Duo nodded cheerily. "Right, right. It was fun watching Hiiro and Wufei sweat bullets."

"W-well, that's not what I meant, but…" 

Trowa was a step before everybody else and had already grabbed hold of both Wufei and Hiiro's shirts by the time they started charging towards the uproariously laughing pilot of Deathscythe. 

…………………

"Let's see…" Trowa looked down at the score sheet and tallied up the results. "From the scores of the three poise and balance exercises and the three endurance standing tests, the people who will be eating dinner will be … Usagi, Quatre, and Wufei," he concluded.

"WHAT?! No way in hell am I eating Maxwell's cooking!" This time Duo had grabbed the back of Wufei's shirt to prevent him from running. The Chinese pilot turned around and looked ready to bite Duo's hand off.

Trowa smiled as Usagi shot a black look toward Quatre. "If you hadn't done so poorly on the first balance test, you probably wouldn't have lost." He turned to the other blonde beside him. "But Quatre, you gave up on purpose, huh?"

The blonde nodded. "I really wanted to taste your and Duo's cooking."

Minako leaned over and whispered in Usagi's ear, "Strange, isn't he?" 

She laughed. "They all are."

…………………

"Since this is technically the first time that this has happened, we'll go easy on everybody. Just two bites will suffice." Trowa's eyes flashed ominously as he set out the two plates of food, one completely blackened and the cause of the dense smoke hovering near the ceiling and the other colorless and unidentifiable. 

Duo nodded solemnly. "And remember, guys, the sink is in the kitchen in case you need to get water."

They were all gathered in Trowa's living room around the coffee table. It was as if the punishment for the day were a spectator sport.  
  


"Ladies first." Usagi gulped and gazed uncertainly at the two lumps of amorphous food objects in front of her and gingerly took a bite of the first and then the second. The entire room was silent as she chewed and each face was frozen in an intense look of observation. Once she had swallowed it, she stood up, threw a hand over her mouth and sprinted wordlessly toward the kitchen.

Wufei felt a tendril of fear crawl up his spine. 

"All right then. Wufei, why don't you go next?"

He bit into the food and chewed thoughtfully. He had to have more control than that girl. Standing up calmly after gulping it down, he started walking casually towards the kitchen. The spectators watched curiously as he blanched and a sickly yellow-green color replaced the regular tone of his face. Halfway to the kitchen, he broke into a run. 

"You're last, Quatre."

The blonde nodded and reached for the blackened lump first, taking a bite, before doing the same with the translucent one. Wufei and Usagi, both of whom had returned by then, gaped as Quatre reached for more. "This is actually pretty good," he said evenly. 

"Not possible…" Minako breathed as she stared at Quatre's unhurried chewing. "After what happened to Usagi and Wufei…" 

"Remind me to get the recipe from you, Trowa." Quatre smiled. "And no need to give me yours, Duo, since you just burn whatever you're cooking."

Duo nodded weakly.

"Well…" Trowa cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned to the two girls. "Read the five books Duo gave the two of you and be prepared to take short quizzes on them."

Minako squeaked. "All five?"

"Yes. Now go home. Your time is running out."

She sighed and headed towards the door, Usagi following her. Minako groaned as she tied her shoelaces. 

"Evil, isn't he?"

Usagi turned to glare back in the direction of the living room. "They all are." This time, there was no amusement in her voice.

…………………

Ne, ne! So much dialogue. xD But it's actually a quite idiotic … lol … nothing particularly important happens … like I said … filler chapter. :x Wai! I'm so excited! I've finally started to watch Gundam Wing … !! Lol … but it's all … dark … and grainy … and it's in English with strange voices … haha. But … Relena's "psychoticness" is a bit exaggerated in the fanfiction world … as well as Hiiro's insensitivity and disregard for life … as well as Quatre's feminity [just a little bit though. xD] But … Duo hasn't been exaggerate. Nope. Not at all. xD I like Catherine … and Noin's voice. :DDD Okay. That's it. xD

**Note: **

The whole punishment with … urk … culinary items idea was inspired from the … "Inui's Special Vegetable Juice" [and all its variations – said with an uber kakkoi Japanese accent. :DDD] in Prince of Tennis. ::dokidoki:: As well as the pilots' and others' reactions … In this case, Quatre would represent Fuji, Hiiro represents Tezuka [and maybe Echizen], Usagi represents Oishi [to some degree], Duo represents Kikumaru/Momoshiro, Wufei represents Kaidoh, and Trowa represents Inui. Haha … I'm such a cheater… xD If you haven't seen the anime yet … GO WATCH NOW!!! You MUST suffer the obsession like I do. :D 

**Xixi****: Wai! You're back…!! Thankyouthankyou!! xD [Y'know … there's a girl in my art class named Xixi … o_o I'm not sure she spells it that way though…]**

**Kumi**** Lang: Lol … How's this for "very soon"…? Disappointment, ne? xD But thanks bunches. :DDD**

**AznxAngel****: Thank you! But maybe going insane isn't so bad … weren't a lot of famous writers/musicians manic-depressive/insane…? Lol … and to think! You'd have me to thank. xD **

**Serena Yuy:** I'm not sure I ever want to tell … lol … that is, who scored the 40 and who the 46 … it'd probably tip the scale a bit too much. xD Especially at a time when I want to achieve equality so badly. :DDD Lol … you'll have to see to find out. ^___~

**Water Angel1: ::blush**:: Thanks so much~! Nobody's ever commented on the way it flows … lol … I'm speechless. xD

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell: Asia-chan~! Heh heh … I don't remember how few my updates were before [while you were beta-reading for me. ^^;] … but I do remember the six-month hiatus … lol. But I'm glad that one week is still considered speedy. :D**

**Gackt**** Camui: Nono! I can't tell, can't tell [about the 40 and 46]! Lol. xD Ne, ne … scary manga. xD But it worked to my advantage. :D School starts for you next week, right? Wahhh … I still miss summer. ^^; S-secretary … oh gosh … bad images, bad images!! ;-; Loved the digression though. ^___~**

**Kolinshar**** Jackie-chan Benito: Hmmm … I had the sudden urge to throw an "extra crispy" in the fic … I think it was taken from your review. :D Lol … I'd have to try harder to be more unpredictable, ne? :D **

**Venus of Love:** Heh heh … not much of Minako in this one either … ;;; No, no! Don't go away! Lol. xD As for the uncooperative thing … yes, yes … that's almost definitely going to happen. And I believe it'll be more than once. :D

**Liquid Ice:** Haha … you can read me so well. ^^; Yesyes, I knew it was "Talk Like a Pirate Day" that Friday … lol … nobody else in my school did it though … so … urk … I talked like a pirate to myself. xD Yes, yes Hiiro's going to suffocate a lot … and it won't just be illusionary. ;D


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. ;-;

General pointlessness through about half of the chapter and then mindless literary devices. :P I. Hate. It. But I don't really know how to fix it … . [mustkillfic] The humor's stupid … except it wasn't even meant to be humor … :P Happy reading … ? xD

**Chapter 5**

"Take a seat. You'll have ten questions per reading and we'll give you," Trowa glanced down at his watch, "until 10:45. About three hours."

Minako shook her head in awe and sobbed melodramatically. "It's way too early in the morning to be telling us this…"

"T-t-ten questions…? T-that'd be fifty questions…?" Usagi noticeably gulped, her face frozen and ashen. "Th-th…" No more words would come out.

Trowa pulled out two packets and dropped them onto the office desk at which both Minako and Usagi were sitting. The quizzes made a most unbecoming flopping sound that characterized thick stacks of paper. 

"T-they're all short answer," Minako whispered numbly. 

"I'd thought for sure I wouldn't be doing anymore quizzes after college…" Usagi sighed. "Service for the nation, huh? We should be getting paid for this."

Minako nodded vehemently. 

"You now have two hours and fifty-five minutes," Wufei interrupted brutally, face irate. "They're not easy questions, you know."

Usagi tapped her pencil boredly on the table and read through number one. "So what're you going to put for the first one?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth. 

"I don't know … I've never even heard of these words … transferability … gravity model … demographic transition…"

"…Did you read it, Minako?"

She snickered sheepishly. "I bought the CDs for the recordings and listened to them in my sleep."

Usagi stared at her blankly. 

"Hey, hey! You two! Stop cheating over there!"

…………………

"Done." All five pilots glanced up at the girls and then at the clock. The word had come out simultaneously, almost as if the two shared a mind. Twenty minutes had lapsed since the distribution of those unsightly packets; twenty minutes during which very little evidence of furious scribbling transpired. Quatre stood up and picked the two packets up. His slightly awed and curious expression slowly dissolved into one of exasperation. 

He glanced up at Minako and raised an eyebrow. "Number thirty-two. After the exponential growth of population in the twentieth and thirtieth centuries, what caused this growth to slow? Which countries were the leaders in this slowing of growth? What model is based on this? Why do you think modern society both defies and supports Malthusian views on population. Answer: Why do YOU think modern society both defies and supports Malthusian views on population?"

Usagi choked back a small giggle. 

He pursed his lips and turned to Usagi's. "Number nineteen: List three examples of how classical empires (Gupta in India, Han in China, and the Pax Romana of Rome) have influenced today's world. Which is said to have had the most influence on the government of the ESUN? How so? Answer: Timbuktu."

Trowa took the papers from Quatre and flipped through them briefly. "You both got twos." 

Minako blinked in surprise. "Which one did I get right?"

"You both got the same one right … 'Who was proclaimed queen by the Romafeller Foundation?'"

"Relena Darlian," both replied automatically. 

Trowa nodded defeatedly. "With this kind of performance and retention of material … we'll probably just have to bluff our way through and learn as we go." 

"Sounds like a relief compared to the chapter readings." 

Trowa frowned. "It's not supposed to."

…………………

"Does it bother either of you that we only have one day left for the training?" Trowa grimaced at the two girls sitting idly in front of him. He ignored Duo's giddy peal of laughter as the braided pilot expertly dodged Wufei's fist and dashed out of the room followed closely by a red-faced Chinese. He ignored the scary tension of muscles on Hiiro's face that indicated the forming of a headache over his head. He ignored Quatre's frantic zipping from one conflict to the next, trying to calm people down but only making things worse. And in the middle of it all, Minako yawned and Usagi stretched her arms. 

Usagi shrugged casually and crossed her legs. "We're on schedule, right? I mean, all we have to do now is integrate everything and act like Miss Relena."

Trowa stopped and thought for a moment. "I suppose that is true … tomorrow Makoto Kino will be in to help adjust both of you to Miss Relena's looks."

Minako nodded absentmindedly. "I'm so tired. I haven't done and accomplished this much in the last year." 

"I wonder what made us decide on the two of you as replacements for Miss Relena." Trowa shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "I mean…" He looked up at them. "You're … you're … "

"We get it, Trowa," Usagi cut in abruptly. Minako shot him a wounded look. 

"It's not as if we don't try! And you don't have to go so far as to insult us…" 

Usagi nodded accordingly. "Right, right."

"I hope you two can pull it off." Trowa sighed. "I mean … you haven't even spent over five minutes alone with Hiiro. It's a very different experience when it's just the two of you and him in that mansion of Relena's. It'll be challenging. Hiiro has a way of making those around him nervous."

Minako smiled brightly. "We can handle it. Hiiro Yui doesn't scare us one bit!"

"SHUT UP!"

The room dropped several degrees in temperature and all movement stopped. Silence flattened the previous buzz of sound. Hiiro's chair had fallen over backwards due to the force of his standing up; his fists clenched and unclenched, the muscles in his arm becoming prominent and then relaxing. 

"Shut up, all of you." 

Usagi surveyed the room. Wufei had caught up to Duo and his hand latched onto his arm but Duo wasn't ready to die at so young an age – his mouth hovered inches away from Wufei's hand, ready to bite if necessary. They froze in mid-step, Duo's right leg still raised as if the two were part of some absurd wax sculpture. Ferocity clung like sweat to Duo's countenance and Wufei's face transitioned from an expression of anger to one of disgust and back again. Quatre's arms stretched outward, ready to push Wufei away from Duo; his face seized by panic, soft blue eyes pleading. 

"That's it for today," Trowa said quietly. "You can all go home."

Usagi glanced at Minako as the two of them stood up and gathered their stuff. "Not afraid of Hiiro Yui? Speak for yourself, Minako."

The other blonde giggled nervously, eyes darting quickly to Hiiro. The anger in his eyes still hadn't dulled or been tamed, and Minako had to admit, the thorny plant called fear was blossoming in her stomach. 

…………………

The strangest thing took place. Just yesterday, Usagi had found herself reading the last page of a book to decide whether or not it was worth the time before starting from page one. In the process, she found out that one of the main characters who had supposedly died somewhere in the middle of the novel hadn't really and that one of the supposed "good guys" had somehow transformed into the antagonist of the story. Normally that would have ruined a story for her but this time, she felt happier, the tangible guardrail of certainty guiding her and making her smile.

It wasn't until twenty minutes had passed and she had just flipped to page forty-two that she figured out what exactly had happened. 

Reading the last page of a book before beginning it was a habit of Relena's.

…………………

Minako sighed as she trimmed her nails for the second time that week. Usagi's almost panicked phone call finally made her realize and take note of the habits of Relena she had adopted. Only now did she understand that her new habit of keeping her nails short, her dislike for anything disorderly, and her sudden love for keeping a diary were actually traits of Relena she had unwittingly picked up along the way. It disconcerted her a bit at first. After all, just five days ago, she had felt only dispassion toward the color pink and yesterday, she found herself wearing a rose-themed ensemble of makeup. 

The fear continued growing in her stomach. She had no intention of losing her identity through this government project. She had no intention of becoming Relena for life. In fact, she had hoped this whole charade would be over with and a fond, nostalgia-inducing memory six months from now. 

But perhaps she was thinking too optimistically.

…………………

"There! Done." 

Minako glanced mournfully down at the long pieces of hair now forever disconnected from her and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was shorter and dyed a darker shade of blonde, now bordering on honey. Makoto had prepared contacts for both Usagi and her and had instructed them on exactly what types of shoes to wear. Usagi distastefully found that she had to come up with a supply of high-heeled shoes that measured around two to three inches high and Minako was ordered to not wear anything taller than an inch. Makoto had also brought complete wardrobes that she deemed "Relena-like" and accessories that were "Relena-fied". 

"This is almost supernatural, huh?" Usagi laughed as she turned to Minako and stared at a reflection of herself. 

Minako blinked dumbfoundedly. "Yeah … it's as if Miss Relena, you, and I are triplets." 

"It's going to get difficult from here," Usagi mumbled. "Even more so than before."

"Do you think you're ready?"

"Is there a way to be ready?" 

Minako giggled. "You're probably right. Hiiro Yui is still way too unpredictable."

………………….

He had called in that morning and told Trowa he felt sick with the flu but he had lied. True his throat was waging war against the rest of his body and was still unbearably scratchy, and true, his temper ran dangerously short; but he would easily have made it to work, especially since work these days was just chaperoning and training Relena's replacements.

But that fact challenged him and his ability to contain himself the most. His hands turned clammy, cold, and numb at the thought of looking at Serena and Usagi especially since from today on, they would even_ look_ exactly like Relena. On the outside, he acted as if he hated this because it wasted his time, but inside, he was trembling with fear.

The features and personalities of Minako and Usagi brought back unwanted memories. Memories of the first time Relena and he had met, how the hatred had burned so fiercely inside of him and how he had truly wanted to end her life with a bullet to the head. It was a hatred fueled by temporary frustration and anger, false and empty. Behind the mask sat the cruel little creature called fear and its siblings, uncertainty and confusion. Until meeting Relena, his world resembled a perfect picture, carefully pieced together and easily coherent. Relena ended that, slashing that picture and allowing the mangled pieces to fall in front of his disbelieving eyes. 

And now, just when he had started over and painfully pieced together a new picture, infernos Minako and Usagi were slowly eating it away at the corners. The picture was curling up as bright fire flickered over it and hungrily consumed any certainty he had managed to win back. 

Despicable reality breathed down his neck and hid in the corners and closets of his apartment. Too little time remained. Just a bit more than two days before he had to return to Relena's mansion and guard over Minako and Usagi. Just a bit more than two days before the picture is completely rendered to ashes.

…………………

A lot of parallel structure [in the plot] ::hinthint:: :D Thanks to Liquid Ice-san's motivation, a brief outline of the plot is down and at this point, it seems as if this will be approximately … eeto … 29 chapter plus prologue and epilogue…? ^^;;; [If I can last that long, it'd be my longest one yet…!! o_o]

**Raye-chan****: Lol … Quatre just has eccentric tastes … ;; The update's a bit late … --; But thanks bunches for the review! :D**

**Serena Yuy:** The only one I could imagine liking the food was Quatre so … heh … he ended up as the one with no taste buds. xD A bit more serious this chapter [near the end] and I think that'll become a trend … [the see-sawing of frivolous and serious] :D

**Venus of Love:** More Minako! Actually … equal amounts. :D Trying to maintain equilibrium .xD 

**Liquid Ice:** o_o!!! Y-you wrote an essay for a review…! Lol. And I love it to death! :DDD It didn't necessarily help motivate me to write this chapter but almost directly after it, I spewed out the outline of the plot for this fic. :D So it wasn't really until this time that I could confirm any guesses because it was all hazy with random scenes until the outline. :D I'm reallyreally happy that I can keep you thinking though … I'm afraid it's going to become a bit predictable. ;-; [or at least, by my standards. xD] Lol … if you really liked the interaction last chapter … go watch Prince of Tennis … it's so much funnier in there. xD What happened to Usagi, hmmm? xD I've actually decided on it but … well … it's more typical than spectacular. x3 Minako's hidden side … heh heh heh … @_@ Wahhhhhhh!!! I love your guesses. :D They're always so thought-provoking. :DDD I agree that Trowa laughed too much but really … I desperately wanted a "normal" guy in there. :D Somebody that wasn't hyper to the extreme of Duo, wasn't Hiiro, Wufei, or Quatre but just … the leader behind it [due to Hiiro's temporary psychological weakness] and all around nice guy. :D Trowa came to mind first. xD [he always does, for me :D] Nono, I loved the interpretations! :DDD I'm curious to know what evidence you can find in this chapter. :D [either intentional or unintentional … xD] 

**Xixi****: Here's more. :D Hmm … I can hardly imagine Trowa cooking … I get this vivid mental picture of the food catching on fire in front of him and he maintaining a bland, bored look on his face and casual posture, with spatula still in hand. xD**

**Kazzeh**** Sodapop: Quatre? Weak? Lol. I'd have to say I thought so at first too but … well … I'm not sure how he'll turn out in this. :D**

**Kolinshar**** Jackie-chan Benito: Hmm … I think I mentioned earlier that Relena was anorexic. :x Lol … can you imagine Zechs's reaction…? o_o!!! It's definitely an amusing picture. :D And if I use it, I'll definitely give you credit. :DDD**

**Tenshi-Hotaru****: Heh heh heh … I was actually thinking of how exactly to make Hiiro taste the food … xD It might happen in the future. :D Lol … yes, yes. Definitely thankful we're not Usagi or Minako in the current situation. xD**

**Gackt**** Camui:  Hmmm … ff.net is a bit strange sometimes … like it sometimes sends emails of reviews but they never show up on the site … xD Yesyes, the bishies from PoT [pot…? xD] are very bishie … lol … you should watch it! :DDD **


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing nor Sailor Moon is mine. ;-; I haven't even seen all of either … ;

**Chapter 6**

"Wow…" Minako breathed, jaw hanging loosely and blue eyes wavering in wonder. "Don't tell me just the three of us will be living in there…" Her shoulders slumped defeatedly. "It's going to be so scary in there! All those rooms … that's got to be big enough to fit twenty-five people easily!" 

The partition separated the relaxed and frivolous atmosphere of Minako and Usagi from the suffocating silence of Hiiro, acting both as guard and chauffer for the day. The limousine pulled into the driveway after bypassing twin gates of complex metalwork. 

Minako glanced at Usagi and did a quick double take. Her companion was staring unseeingly out the opposite window back at the quiet isolation of the street they had just gotten off of, expression bland. Minako quirked an eyebrow, pouting faintly in bemusement. "You're not surprised at all? How much exactly does photography pay?" She narrowed her eyes suspicious, ready to pry whatever it was out of the girl beside her.

A pause accentuated only by the muted drone of wheels against pavement passed before Usagi jerked and turned to smile uncertainly at Minako as if the other girl's voice had just registered. "Yes, Miss Relena's primary mansion is pretty complex … I think Michiru Kaioh designed it as a challenge to take her mind off music and composing a while back." Usagi glanced out the tinted window at the building's façade and shrugged indifferently. "I once did a photographic article on Quatre Winner's assortment of mansions … once you see one, you've seen them all."

The car pulled to a stop in front of the door which immediately flung open to reveal a small assemblage of household staff, welcoming and curious smiles on faces. Minako stared. The picture was so idealistic that she was almost willing to believe that the human figures were just 2-D cardboard imitations, ready to fall over if a chance sliver of wind nudged them. 

A small-statured old man straightened his collar and hurried to the limousine. Minako and Usagi stared up at his benign face as he blinked a couple of times in disbelief before opening the door completely and stretching his face in a warm smile of welcome.

"Miss Aino, Miss Tsukino … I am Pagan, your butler and chauffer. Though from now on, I should probably call both of you Miss Relena, huh?" His smile was slight as he shook his head incredulously, undoubtedly noting the striking resemblance between both girls and the real Relena. 

Hiiro had opened the trunk and exited from the front, the door banging shut, disrupting the butler's brief moment of awe. Pagan reached for the suitcases as Hiiro moved to help. 

"I'm sorry, my dears, for the lack of festivity, but this is really quite a somber time for us, with respect to Miss Relena's state, of course." Pagan shook his head disapprovingly. "I've always told her she took after her father … that man, never was one bit overweight. Where that child got the idea that she was fat, I have no idea." 

"We're really sorry for this." Minako inclined her head slightly as Pagan hauled the suitcases out of the trunk with the help of Hiiro, still silent and worlds away. 

Usagi mirrored her move. "And we can't assume to take the place of Relena but we hope to at least maintain her public reputation until she recovers."

Pagan nodded solemnly. "Yes, of course, of course. But please do make yourselves at home and of course you will be treated just as if you were Miss Relena … In fact, I could probably show the two of you around the house this evening or…" the same, small smile flittered over his face, "perhaps you would prefer for Mr. Hiiro to do the honors."

Minako looked askance at Usagi who thinned her lips. Pagan had left the taking of suitcases into the house to Hiiro who was doing the job without complaint and in stifling silence. 

"M-maybe we'll just explore a little ourselves today," Usagi offered weakly. Pagan nodded understandingly. 

"Of course. Mr. Yui is very difficult to get close to … in fact, Miss Relena probably achieved the best results, but of course she always hoped for more." He sighed and shook his head, gazing at the ground. "Perhaps she was never meant to achieve more."

Usagi's eyes met Minako's as they glanced at each other and headed towards the door, a quietly commentating Pagan in the lead.

…………………

They took the stairs slowly, Pagan going on about the making of the house – Usagi had been right in saying that it was designed and decorated by Michiru Kaioh – before finally arriving at the second floor. Their luggage sat in the middle of the hall.

"Please feel free to choose whichever rooms you want. Unpack and rest a bit and I'll call the two of you and Mr. Yui when meals are ready to be served." With a departing smile, he walked back down the stairs and disappeared from view. 

"The bond between Miss Relena and him must be really strong," Minako murmured. Usagi nodded in agreement before sighing and beaming. 

"So where do you want to live for the next however long period of time as a world-class diplomat?"

Before receiving an answer, Usagi peered into each room before coming to the last one. "Ah! This must be Mr. Hiiro's room." Minako glanced over curiously. 

"I guess we should probably room next to him…"

Usagi stepped into the room adjacent to the closed door. "It's not too bad. Compared to the others, this will probably receive a lot of light." 

Minako giggled as she followed Usagi into the room. "The instinct of a photographer, huh?" 

"You want this room?"

Minako blinked. "Next to Mr. Hiiro? Yikes … he scares me." Her eyes darted to the wall the two rooms shared. 

"And you're willing to sacrifice me?" Usagi managed a wounded look. "Come on, Minako! You're taller! You can beat him up." Just the thought of Minako fighting Hiiro Yui in a Mortal Combat-esque way made her laugh. "I'm shorter and so much easier to squish." 

Tilting her head, Minako tapped her chin thoughtfully and thought it out carefully. "Rock, paper, scissors." 

"What?"

"Rock, paper, scissors. Whoever loses can stay in this room." 

Usagi blanched. Rock, paper, scissors, eenie meenie minie moe, whatever. She had never been lucky at those chance games in her life. 

"Ready?"

Reluctantly, Usagi raised her fist to the palm of her left hand. At the final beat, she decided on scissors.

Only to have Minako reveal a rock. 

"B-best seven out of fifteen."

Minako eyed her strangely. "Y'know, Usagi … most normal people would ask for best two out of three." She blinked quizzically before realizing her victory and laughing triumphantly. "Sorry though. It's best one out of one." 

Usagi sighed. "Minako is so cruel."

Turning back to Usagi, Minako flashed a victory sign. "I like to call it natural selection."

…………………

For the first time since the onset of Relena's illness, Hiiro felt like smiling. He suppressed it but not without some difficulty.

He had never quite understood why Relena had ordered Michiru Kaioh to only put the bare essentials in the walls – insulation, plaster and whatnot – but leaving a majority of it hollow to facilitate the transfer of sound from one room to another. It was hard to believe that Relena's recent paranoia had existed that far back in time.

But after some deliberation, he came to realize that he hadn't understood a lot about Relena. Of course, his keen observation skills didn't miss anything on the outside – her habits, her goals, her moods – but in a way, Relena never quite let anybody get acquainted with her weaknesses, her states of mind. It was just like her to be pragmatic like that but it also led her down the road of chronically putting on an act of strength, courage, belief. 

But that was irrelevant. The smile that had encroached upon him was gone now but the pleasant memory remained. Minako Aino and Usagi Tsukino had been arguing over who had to sleep in the room adjacent to his, their unrestrained voices easily picked up by his sharp and fine-tuned hearing. Their fear of staying in the room next to his almost made him sound like some type of terrorist or rapist out to get them. Just the thought was laughable. The argument sounded childish and that was really what was so appealing – the naïveté and unabashed sentiment of it. 

He leaned against the wall and decided to partake in the entertainment.

A slight twist to the hackneyed phrase "walls have ears" – now, the walls have Hiiro's ears.

…………………

"Usagi! Need help?" Minako grinned as she flung open the door and skipped in. 

"You're already done?"

She nodded. 

Usagi stared at her skeptically. "I shouldn't open your closet door, should I?" She shook her head. "I'd hoped Miss Relena's habit of being neat would rub off on you."

Minako made a face and smiled sheepishly. "Fine, you caught me. But really! How can I spend hours on putting everything away when I know half the time, we'll be shuttling from one place to another, giving speeches?" 

Usagi shrugged, folded another shirt and flung it into the open closet, several feet from her sitting position on the bed. It remained folded though not as impeccably so as before. Minako sighed and jumped onto the bed next to her, gazing curiously at the backpack next to Usagi.

"What's in here?"

"Photography stuff. Albums, negatives-Hey! At least let me finish speaking before you start digging through it!" 

"Wow! You were so cute as a child!"

Usagi gaped. "H-hey! Don't look through that…!"

Minako's eyes widened. "And who's this girl…? She looks so familiar." Her expression turned thoughtful. 

Usagi glanced over. The smile drooped a notch. "She's my sister."

"What? You two look nothing alike!"

"She was adopted."

Minako cocked her head. "So why does she look so familiar?"

"Her name…" Usagi looked aside and bit her lip. "Her name is Michiru Kaioh."

"Ah! You mentioned her before…" Minako's voice trailed off as she looked over at Usagi. "Are the two of you not on good terms…?" she questioned tentatively, careful about going into potentially dangerous terrain. 

"No, that's not it. Once we even lived together by ourselves in her apartment … for about a year." Usagi straightened and leaned over Minako's shoulder to flip the album a bit more. "Guess who this is." She pointed to a blurred picture of vibrant colors. 

"Is it you…?"

Usagi giggled. "That's close actually … It's you." 

"Wow! How did you get it to blur like that?"

"Took one of those self-developing pictures and before it was finished, rubbed water over it." Usagi beamed at her. "It was an experiment."

Minako grinned back and scrutinized the picture some more. "Can I keep it?" 

Usagi nodded. "There're pictures of Miss Relena that I did a while ago for various jobs too." She flipped to the back of the album and pulled several pictures from the plastic pocket. 

"Some of these are familiar to me … I analyzed her fashion a bit in Elle." Minako laughed embarrassedly. "Really … it's not bad but it was never quite equal to Michiru Kaioh's. But of course, who can expect otherwise?"

A loose picture fluttered down onto Minako's lap. "And this picture…?" Her eyes widened. "Mr. Hiiro?"

………………….

On the other side of the wall, Hiiro started and barely avoided choking on his own spit.

…………………

"It was another experiment."

Minako held it away from her face and then close up. "I like it. It's an interesting angle." She sighed and slipped the photographs back into the folder part of the album. "You're so talented, Usagi. I'm jealous."

She looked up, startled. "Talented…?" Her eyes turned to the album in Minako's lap. "I don't think I've ever been called that."

Rolling her eyes, Minako pushed her on the side of the head with one finger, drawing out the word, "Iiiiiiidiooooooot. If this is talent, then what is?" She realized too late that she had gone too far. Usagi's arms frantically tried to grab at air as she lost her balance and fell to a giggling heap onto her side on the bed. 

…………………

Lunchtime was the three of them, Minako, Hiiro, Usagi, sitting at a small rectangular table, in absolute silence with Pagan anxiously hovering over them. 

Hiiro reluctantly put down his fork and cleared his throat. Both Usagi and Minako looked up questioningly. 

"The first appearance as Relena requires something like an arrival speech, announcing her return to the public and political world. This will be held at Quatre's mansion for familiarity purposes so that the two of you will be able to have a more gradual entry into the world of politics. Quatre and the others have prepared a speech and have decided that it would suit you, Miss Minako, better."

Minako blinked, eyes slightly fearful as if timidly asking, "Me?"

"All you have to do is memorize the speech and deliver it to the guests at that dinner party. It's fairly short." He looked up at her and gazed assessingly, sharp sapphire eyes scanning for giveaways of weakness. He saw her hands ball into fists.

"I don't want to use that speech."

"What?" both he and Usagi replied at the same time.

"I want to write my own speech, based on my own opinions and feelings. It'll be more genuine, right? That'll make it more like Miss Relena."

Hiiro stared at her curiously before shrugging gruffly and standing up, ready to leave. "It's up to you. If you think you're up to it. But the others have to approve of it first."

Minako gritted her teeth at his faintly condescending words. "Of course."

Hiiro shot her another strange look before exiting the dining room and heading back upstairs.

A moment of silence passed before, in a small voice, Minako asked, "I don't suppose you know how to write speeches … do you, Usagi?"

…………………

Longer than usual … I was afraid this chapter would have very little information in it so I tried my hardest to come up with … "stuff" … and ended up with overkill. xD According to the outline … romance [or major hints of it] doesn't really show up until next chapter … that's 8 chapters into the story! I wonder if I'm always this slow … ; 

Actually … I feel largely unsatisfied with this fic … and though I've attempted to slow it down and take longer to update … the quality [or whatever] doesn't seem to improve. Lol. I'm so disappointed in myself. :P But if it keeps on going like this … I don't' know what I'll do. Probably put it aside for half a year or something … Lol. Like I did with Gray Matter/Picture This/etc. I don't know. Just … please don't take this as a cry for pity … lol. However if you have any suggestions … I would love to hear them! :D It's just a heads up. ^^;

**AznxAngel**: Lol. I do believe your description regarding the story "burning into your head" transcends mine of Hiiro's fear … xD 

**C06 aka Lady Artemis**: I'm sorry you're sick! Hopefully you're better already [since it's been awhile since I've updated] but if you aren't … get better soon! ^^ And that was most definitely an error … lol. ::embarrassed::

**Liquid Ice**: Would it be bad if I said I have no idea what exactly I'm doing with Usagi…? Lol. I don't know … I tried to make her more like her old self in this chapter, partially as a reaction to your comments but … I don't want her to get completely out of character and become apathetic [like she seems right now] but … there IS a motive behind it … lol. [I think] By the way … I'm still curious as to what evident you can find … lol. I don't think I'm dropping any hints though … ; Maybe unconsciously. :3 Yikes … I'm so flattered with your comments on the Hiiro paragraph but … honestly … I think you exaggerate. :x But! You have now improved my self-esteem. :D [for the time being ^^;]

**Gackt**** Camui: Lol … the relationship between Hiiro and Relena…? :3 I'll remain mute. :D Thanks for the review! It was really …cheery. Lol … somehow I always picture a SD anime character when I think of you … ; [and according to MS Word, your name should be … urk … "Gasket Camay" :D]**

**Kolinshar**** Benito: Lol … it's the thought that counts. :D Inuyasha…? o_o nonono … don't remind me…!! I've just gotten rid of the withdrawal. :P Lol.**

**Tenshi-Hotaru**: Wow! You sound more enthusiastic about this fic than I am … Lol. But thankyouthankyou. :D Taking on Relena's traits … ::fufufu:: I think it's interesting … ;D 

**Kazzeh**** Sodapop: ::tears at hair:: I don't know who's going to end up with who!! ;-; I'm veryvery indecisive about this … lol. Minako or Usagi or neither or both…? Both seems a bit unlikely because the plot doesn't work so that I can have alternate endings [or … this version of the plot doesn't work … ] I'm not sure how exactly I can do neither unless I kill Hiiro … lol. So that leaves the two either or choices … ::sigh:: I'm really not sure. ;-; Romance [or … urk … heavier hints at it … will probably appear next chapter. :D]**

**Xixi**:  Lol … it's hard to imagine it … Usagi and Minako made-over so that they look like Relena … I almost want to do fanart. x3 Just to see what it'd look like, ne? ^^; 


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon. You should know this by heart now. :D

**Chapter 7**

"Please tell me you're at least one sentence closer to being finished, Minako."

All she received in reply was a sob-moan and the distinct crack of a pencil snapping in two. That would be the fifth one that evening. 

"Read to me what you have so far," she advised calmly, leaned back onto the bed, eyes on the girl bent over at the desk. 

Minako sighed heavily and reluctantly straightened, blinking the sleep from blood-shot eyes. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate your allotting a portion of your time to this welcome back reception for me. Through the duration of the past six months, I have been absent from public as you all are well aware. I am deeply sorry to have worried the general populace regarding my whereabouts and cannot do much else than humbly and abashedly admit that the cause behind this absence was nothing more than a trivial vacation and some self-imposed time off."

Usagi made a noncommittal sound and tilted her head thoughtfully. "Not bad."

"Hiiro's speech is quadruple that length," Minako pointed out flatly. She had long since given up on cheering herself up. Self-depreciation was all the rage in modern society anyhow. 

Usagi shrugged. "Well you're not a press-proclaimed genius. Stop being a perfectionist."

Minako pouted and turned back to the paper. "That doesn't mean I don't want to be one."

There was only the dull sound of Minako tapping the eraser end of her pencil on the desk coupled with the steady rhythm of a dainty little alarm clock on the night table. 

"Listen."

The tapping of Minako's pencil stopped as she turned around and gazed quizzically at her companion. "What?" She felt compelled to whisper. 

A calm blanket of gentle silence covered them. Outside, barely audible, was the hush of drizzle, occasionally broken by the sound of small drops of water hitting against the window.

Usagi reverently closed her eyes. When she reopened them, Minako was grinning at her. 

"You know … you were wrong when you said that you were a realist, Usagi," she began lightly and her smile widened when Usagi tilted her head to a side, questioning. "You're a romantic."

The blonde started and stared at her, briefly stunned before dissolving into laughter. "Me? A romantic?" The laughter subsided. "Maybe before."

The note of finality and yearning in those two words was not lost to Minako who decided to leave it at that and bring up the topic at a more opportune time. Usagi's gaze had once again turned to the window but Minako knew she wasn't looking at the lavender-gray sky or marveling at how the droplets on the window caught the subdued light. Rather, Usagi's eyes were turned inward and she was gazing at herself, undoubtedly contemplating some part of her that was well beyond Minako's reach. At the time, at least. 

Minako sighed and turned back to the speech in front of her, furrowing her brow in concentration. Ten minutes and two words passed before Usagi's voice broke through her train of thought.

"Minako…"

Usagi's voice sounded so serious that it was almost as if they were discussing death or some other taboo subject. 

"What?" she replied equally seriously. 

A teasing smile flittered over Usagi's expression. "I'm hungry."

………………..

"There is plenty of food in the pantry but if the two misses can wait for another half hour, dinner will be ready," the fair-featured maid replied with a heavy French accent. She smiled shyly and almost uncertainly as if afraid one or both of the "two misses" would bite.

"Thank you so much. We'll wait." Minako smiled and ignored the desperate look Usagi shot her, taking the blonde girl by the arm. "Come on, Usagi, we still need to finish that speech."

"B-b-b-but … Minako! I'm hungry!"

The maid blinked as the one named Minako walked resolutely back up the stairs, dragging a protesting and stuttering Usagi along with her. 

…………………

Usagi exhaled a long breath as she resigned herself to sitting back down on the bed and waiting out another half hour of hunger before the sweet satisfaction of food. "I don't understand what is wrong with using Mr. Hiiro's speech. I mean … it's not as if it's lacking or anything."

Minako didn't turn around but from her tone of voice, Usagi could just imagine her reproachful expression. "You agreed with my actions not two hours ago. Besides, Mr. Hiiro's speech is just so … so … _stiff_. Who still uses words like 'traumatized' or 'heartrending' in their public speeches?" Minako made a face. "Certainly not Miss Relena, I'd hope."

"You don't like Mr. Hiiro much, do you, Minako?"

"Is it that obvious?" Her voice was twisted with sarcasm as she shifted and straightened in her seat, her back still turned to the other occupant of the room. 

"That's funny," Usagi started slowly, a small laugh coloring her words. "I'd always imagined I'd be the one to dislike Mr. Hiiro more." 

Minako sniffed. "No, you're just tactless enough to say it out loud." She giggled and finally turned around to catch Usagi's wounded expression. "Oh come on, Usagi! How can you so indiscreetly ask him 'what if we refuse to comply?' during the screening? You might as well have been _screaming_ for him to make your life miserable."  

"Well it's not as if you educated me in diplomacy, oh great and wise Minako," Usagi replied sulkily.

"Get over it, Usagi. I'd say it's because you're too ingenuous to think before you speak but somehow that word doesn't quite suit you." Minako paused and mulled over the idea before shrugging and turning back to the task at hand. "Maybe I'll just leave the speech at four sentences. I mean … all I have to do is say 'hey, I'm back from my unbelievably long vacation'." She wrinkled her nose and stared at the results of the last three hours of work. "A second grader can say that in two sentences; why in the world does Mr. Hiiro have to go to the trouble of ten?" She waited for some witty, double-edged retort but received none. Minako turned around questioningly and smiled at the sight of the gentle movements of Usagi's chest, her eyes closed in slumber. She picked up her pencil to write and muttered affectionately, "At least she won't complain about being hungry now."

…………………

Dinner was again a clumsy and awkward affair, traveling down the doomed trail of all their other meals together. Minako prodded listlessly at her food. Usagi was apparently convinced that this meal would be her last and was stuffing herself to her heart's content. _Well there's one person who'll never become anorexic. She almost laughed out loud. _

Hiiro cleared his throat from across the table. Minako looked up, mildly surprised for Hiiro hadn't spoken a single word beside brief, barely audible mutters of "excuse me" after previous meals. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Usagi hadn't taken any notice of Hiiro's subtle call for attention and was still lost in her world of gastronomic delights. Minako sighed. Undoubtedly Relena's chef was delighted to have found such a devoted fan to his cooking after being neglected for so long. Due to Relena's constant and fictitious complaining of a lack of appetite, that is. 

"Have you finished the speech yet?" His voice was bland and devoid of concern though at the same time, lacking contempt. Minako decided it was one of those voices that made a person want to hang himself after a few hours of listening to it. Not that it was annoying but rather because it was so frigid and seemed to drain the world of color and beauty. 

What a sad world Hiiro Yuy must live in.

"I still need to … perfect it," she bluffed. 

He didn't seem like he heard. "Just have it ready by tomorrow morning and I'll check to make sure it is okay." His arctic eyes were focused on her but they looked just like Usagi's that afternoon, turned inward and looking at himself rather than her.  

Minako dropped her fork to her plate. Usagi's eating had slowed down considerably but had yet to come to a stop. On the first day, Pagan had been a little dumbfounded by her ability to hold food but he had been too courteous to say anything. Of course that didn't mean he was not incredulously gaping during every meal since yesterday's lunch. She chanced a glance at Hiiro and frowned. 

His world seemed so bleak and lacking. Perhaps it was unfair to darken it even more with her resentment. She sipped her lemon-tinged water thoughtfully. 

Perhaps Mr. Hiiro needed understanding more than love … and perhaps that was where Miss Relena had gone wrong.

…………………

The next day dawned clear but not sunny. But Usagi didn't notice because she woke up to Minako's face, two inches away from her own, stretched in a wide, almost delirious grin and told of extreme caffeine intake. 

"Usagi! I'm so happy! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!" 

Irritatedly, Usagi waved a hand as if attempting to swat the giant fly named Minako away. "Turkeys are done, people are finished," she snapped annoyedly before rolling over and attempting to resume sleep. "And lighten up on the caffeine, Minako." 

"I'll get Mr. Hiiro to approve it over breakfast … c'mon, Usagi! Breakfast! Breakfast!" 

"Alright already!" Usagi gave up and propped herself up to a sitting position. "Would you at least _please stop shouting a-a-and __bouncing?" _

"But I'm finished! I'm so happy! I wrote it all last night! But you're not reading it … only Mr. Hiiro … it'll be a surprise!" With a giddy peal of laughter, Minako skipped out of the room and back into her own. 

…………………

"We're out of coffee." Hiiro's voice sounded strained and vastly grouchy as he glared at Usagi. Usagi glared back. 

"It's not as if it's my fault."

The sound of cheery singing drifted down the stairs as Minako half ran half jumped, looking ready to break out into flips and somersaults if she could. Both Usagi and Hiiro turned to her vivacious figure and glowered.

"Minako…"

"Hn."

…………………

There was absolute and consummate silence as Hiiro read over the speech. Minako shifted uneasily. Her hand involuntarily jerked and she blinked down curiously at it, holding it up in front of her face. It shook. She paled. Has anyone ever died from caffeine overdose?

She glanced over and saw Usagi smiling smugly at her trembling hands, undoubtedly still holding a grudge over the caffeine. 

_Oh please God, let me be okay and I'll never_ ever_ drink coffee again._

"It's fine," Hiiro finally stated, handing the sheet of paper back to Minako. She frowned at it. Though it was obvious he was trying valiantly to hide and subdue his yawns, it was also clear that Hiiro was not at his most alert. Minako wasn't sure whether he could tell the difference between "fine" and "disgusting" in his current state. 

Nevertheless, she replied, "Thank you." Glancing down at her hands again, she saw that they had ceased their unnatural shaking and breathed a sigh of relief, deciding to alter her deal a bit. 

_Thank you, God … I'll only drink coffee once a day._

…………………

After much bustling around and cries of frustration – largely due to Minako's Tower of Pisa worth of belongings in her closet, which Usagi courteously managed to not gloat over – the three arrived in the back of the limousine, officially fifteen minutes behind schedule. Hiiro's steady, obstinate staring out the window did not at all bode well for the atmosphere of the ride to Quatre's but Minako was too busy frenetically going over her speech to notice. 

Usagi coughed and glanced over at Minako, smiling. "Don't worry so much. It's a short speech and you're an outgoing person so it shouldn't be too difficult."

Minako looked as if she wanted to jump out of the car, sprint home, and hide under the bed until all memory of a Relena Darlian was lost. "But they're all strangers out there! And they all expect so much from me! And-"

"That reminds me." Both girls turned to Hiiro, sitting across from them. He stared back at them blandly without even the slightest hint of anger, sympathy … or anything for that matter, in his gaze. There was, however, a patent tension in his shoulders and he refused to meet either of them in the eye.

"There will be certain people there that are not strangers."

"But we'll know a majority of them already, correct? I mean … it's not as if Miss Relena is some hermit living in the highlands of Scotland and unheard of in the news." Usagi paused and thought. "For example … we'll know Milliardo Peacecraft."

"He's away in Europe."

"But his wife will be there?" Minako joined in the conversation. "Lucrezia Noin?"

Hiiro gave a succinct nod.

"And we'll know Dorothy Catalonia from the screening and Sally Po from the news."

"Dorothy Catalonia will not be present. You might run into Lady Une but Relena and she are not close acquaintances. It is sufficient to greet her cordially." 

The two blondes nodded accordingly, Minako's jitters briefly forgotten.

"You will of course know the five of us. Relena is particularly familiar with Quatre." Both girls noted how his jaw clenched and shared a furtive glance. "There will be other famous people there whose names you should know. I believe Ami Mizuno, Mamoru Chiba., and Sylvia Noventa will be there." 

"All right. We can pull this off," Usagi chirped optimistically, shooting the again nervous Minako a supportive look, just as the door to the limo opened and they were greeted by the grand sight of Quatre's mansion with all lights on.

…………………

I never realized how much my state of mind affected my chapters … lol. I was incredibly sleepy [it was about 3:00 in the morning] when I wrote the whole caffeine interlude … so maybe it came out a bit exaggerated. xD But again I had dwelt longer than expected on other minor aspects of the story [while dropping hints, mind you. :D] than I'd first projected. At first the party/reception was meant to be in this chapter … ; But no worries … this chapter helped me explore a bit into the girls' characters … :D Still that means my pseudo-promise of romance this chapter remains unfulfilled. ;-; Sorry, sorry! ::bows::

**Xixi:** Hiiro mean? Hmm … I meant for him to seem cold … maybe harsh … but mean? Lol. Okay yeah. Mean. I hadn't planned on Michiru and Usagi being related actually … lol. Until I read Andante [this shoujo manga scanlation that only has one chapter translated so far … grrr. P] But I think Michiru will play a fairly … important role. :D As for Haruka and Hotaru … I'm not positive I'm bringing any other major parts in … they might be mentioned as Ami and Mamoru did this chapter but I don't believe anybody outside of the already established roles will play a particularly decisive part in the plot … if that makes sense. :D 

**Venus of Love:** Lol … Minako asking for the picture might be a bit too drastic right now. :D I think this chapter was sterile of hints too … xD But I swear! Next chapter [focused on the reception/party] will have hints galore … or I hope … ; But it'll be equal … that is, hints of both couples … again, I hope. Lol. 

**AznxAngel:** Haha … Hiiro's always listening to us … ; Nono … scary thought. I hope you were equally delighted with this chapter. :D

**Kolinshar Benito**: ::frantically trying to match up the expressions with the chapter:: My expression's through the review à ?-?, ._. , o_o , xD , ^_________^.

**Liquid Ice**: Ack! Of course reviewing's not the only thing you're good at! Though admittedly … it is something you're exceptionally so at. :D  Yes, yes. I admit that it is always so refreshing to read a fic where the characters are actually genuinely in character … [like the-no-longer-updating Jemjols-san's … grrr] And truly I think that that is more challenging to pull off … but there is the factor of artistic license … and though the "purists" tend to believe crossover sections take a bit too far …  it's really just a minority … right? Or have I been completely out of touch with this section? [lol … I haven't been reading too much lately…] However, they'd be hypocrites if they asserted that the pure categories do not warp characters. In fact, it is from reading [years and years] of SM fanfiction that my vision of Usagi became so … different. A majority of the better fics there make Usagi smarter and more graceful though, admittedly, nowhere close to a perfect soldier or anything. xD And also with Hiiro's character … people in the GW as well as crossover categories tend to … exaggerate his apathy and harshness … [I just noticed by how much when I started watching the actual episodes … lol] But … I forgot why I'm talking about this. Is this a tangent? Lol … xD The hidden plot, hmm? ::cackle:: It's actually a bit … strange and unlikely. I think I'll change it. xD This review actually influenced me a lot … and I think you can find out exactly how so. :D

**Tenshi-Hotaru**: ::blush:: thank you! :D Here's the update … in my definition of "soon". :D

**Gackt Camui:** Lol … I don't think any extensive explanation will come until about … urk … 4 chapters from now…? That's a very rough estimate. xD I can see Hiiro the terrorist … as for Hiiro the rapist … that brings back memories of Vixen-san's Hiiro the prostitute. Lol. But it's not an unbelievable picture … x3 And even if I didn't deserve all those compliments … I'll take 'em all anyhow. ::cackles:: Yesyes I've heard of Gackt Camui :D I've mostly listened to his solo songs … none of the Malice Mizer ones … but now I will. :D And you have very perceptive friends, Gackt-san. xD

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell: Relena is just … urk … "out of commission" Lol. She shall be back … I think … ;**

**Kazzeh Sodapop**: Ack! You make me feel so evil for saying that … lol. Hopefully next chapter … ; But romance was _planned _for this chapter … if that helps … :D Sorrysorry! 

**Cheska**: Uaa! You're back! :DDD I'm glad you like it … and we'll see about the Usagi/Hiiro-ness of it … ;D


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing + Sailor Moon does not = Mine.  

**Chapter 8**

They arrived late, Minako again panicking as pigeon-sized butterflies frolicked in her stomach. Hiiro ignored how she muttered her speech over and over again under her breath. 

In the starlight and veil of darkness, the mansion transformed into a haven of warmth and activity, a fairytale castle that transcended reality. Usagi stared up at it and couldn't help marveling how they were rushing in like Cinderella to her fateful gala. She briefly wondered if people would look at her strangely if she walked around taking pictures.

That was, of course, out of question. Tonight was Minako's night and Hiiro had mentioned before that the world had no need to know of "Relena's" double until necessity demanded it. Usagi was to call as little attention to herself as possible, stay close to Hiiro and Minako and play the ambiguous role of a friend of a friend of Relena. 

They paused at the door as guards efficiently skimmed over their IDs and scribbled notes on the guest list before waving them in. Usagi glanced over at Minako and yearned for her camera – she was breathlessly beautiful in layers of white chiffon upon satin. Pragmatically, she herself had picked a muted blue dress, the perfect color for melting into shadow. Taking a deep breath, she matched Hiiro and Minako's steps as they slowed down. _This is going to work. Nothing will go wrong._

The three stepped through the door and Usagi surreptitiously nodded at Hiiro and patted Minako on the shoulder before slipping away. By the time she was halfway across the room, the chatter had perceptively lulled as heads turned toward the door. Usagi blinked as Duo tapped her on the shoulder and grinned before continuing in the direction of Hiiro and Minako, undoubtedly planning on fulfilling his role as a guard.

She headed farther into the room, slipping past important diplomats whose names she couldn't even pronounce, eyes focused on the back of the room where there were chairs and stylish little sofas for the tipsy. Usagi scanned the room, wondering where she should hide until "Relena" was done going around the room greeting everybody she needed to, and brightened when she saw Trowa lounging in one of said sofas, eyes focused, like the others, on the blonde figure across the room. 

"Can I take this seat?"

Trowa started, smiled, and nodded. She sat with a sigh.

"So why aren't you up there guarding her like everybody else?"

He smiled faintly. "We only need three people with her at one time in each major event and we rotate in. I won at rock, paper, scissors."

She giggled and turned back to the figure in white. She was halfway across the room by then, slowly making her way to the podium.

…………………

To Minako, nothing was worse than being paraded around the room, shaking hands and exchanging greetings. Sure, the first five or so were intriguing and captured her interest but as five turned to ten turned to twenty, her curiosity waned and was eclipsed by utter boredom. She had to admit that she both pitied and admired Miss Relena for being able to put up with this at every social event.

At this time, she would have been rejoicing had she only had to go around greeting hopelessly important people. There was, however, a protective circle of three in her personal space the entire time. Three equally expressionless logs who did not speak, did not smile, did not do anything. She was surprised Duo could pull it off for more than two minutes. 

Quatre was beaming at her from across the room on the stage, microphone in hand. Minako glanced up periodically, almost helplessly, at him. By the time she reached him, she would make her speech and would then hopefully disappear into the walls, become part of the drapery, and shrink back to mediocrity. Quatre's beaming face across the room was the metaphorical light at the end of the dark tunnel.

"Relena, you're back! You look well."

She started from the monotony of "thank you, sir"s and "nice to see you again, ma'am"s to meet sharp, navy blue eyes smiling at her. 

"Noin…?" The name was half stated, half asked.

The dark blue-black haired woman eyed her puzzledly. "Of course I'm Noin. I'm only your brother's fiancée and your future sister-in-law," she teased. "You seem awfully spacey, Relena."

"I-I'm just not quite used to being back yet," Minako covered quickly. To her right, she saw Duo slowly let out a relieved sigh. 

Noin continued to eye her skeptically. "Right." She frowned. "Not quite used to being back to the world you grew up in," she murmured to herself but smiled one last smile at Relena and let her pass.

…………………

"Wow! Look at that woman's dress! I'm saying that's completely indecent." Usagi's eyes roamed around the room, fascinated. 

Trowa glanced at her. "After awhile, all of these parties get to be the same. You start not being able to remember whether you skipped the one last week or the one a month ago. And for the more studious and efficient few," Trowa nodded toward a man several seats from them, "you learn to bring a book."

"Is it really that bad?"

He shrugged. "It's like taking drugs. You can never achieve as glorious a high as the first time." 

Usagi stared at him. "I know what you mean," she replied slowly though it was obvious from her intonation that she had no idea what he was talking about.

Trowa had to smile. "Of course, you could always be one of the select few, like Duo, who seems to find new ways to amuse himself every time. I believe last time he wanted to see what was the greatest number of times he can step on a woman's feet while dancing before her saying anything." He paused thoughtfully. "The record was 17." He shook his head, waving the number away. "It doesn't matter. Quatre always wins the bets on these things."

Usagi grinned at him. "You all seem so close. It's a wonderful thing."

He cocked his head. "Not in particular. It is especially _not_ a wonderful thing when Duo and Wufei are playing cat and mouse and Hiiro looks inches away from ripping their throats out." Trowa smiled reassuringly at Usagi's startled expression. "Of course Quatre always finds some ingenious way to solve the problem. It's in his genes."

No words were exchanged as Usagi turned to watch Minako – she was almost to the end of the tunnel; a few more people and she'd have reached Quatre. 

"But everything broke down when Miss Relena got sick."

She started at the sudden piercing of the silence by Trowa's contemplative voice. 

"Hiiro began to act … strangely." Trowa didn't meet her eyes. "He had moments of … incongruity, for lack of a better word. I'd call it deliriousness but that doesn't seem to quite fit." He paused and looked down at the marble and granite floor. "Duo and Quatre were the ones to worry the most though it'd be unfair to say that neither Wufei nor I were the least bit disturbed or dumbfounded at Hiiro's…" He searched in the air for a word. "…fits."

Usagi frowned and glanced over at the impassive and stiff figure beside Minako. "Fits?" she whispered. 

Trowa shifted and checked his watch. "But the rest of the story is, of course, up to Hiiro to tell you." He stood up. "It's my shift now." Usagi stared at his tall figure as he pushed past people in order to reach Minako. 

…………………

Hiiro finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief as Minako uttered the last words of the speech and smiled dazzlingly out at the crowd that expressed its approval and welcome of her by eager applause. He glanced down at her hands clutching the index cards and noted that they had stopped trembling. 

"Minako, as Relena, you must at least socialize for fifteen minutes," Duo told her. Minako's victorious smile faltered. 

"Socialize? With who?"

Duo shrugged. "Just go around and hear people's comments on your speech." He paused and grinned. "You can tell them about your "self-imposed vacation"."

Minako shot him a brief glare before huffily walking off, bracing herself for fifteen minutes of misery. 

"Hiiro, don't follow her." Trowa shook his head at Hiiro's mildly surprised expression. "We don't usually stick with Miss Relena throughout an entire event. It would seem odd if you did this time."

"I don't care. She needs to be watched this first time through." He was about to turn and leave again before Duo grabbed his shoulder.

"If you stick with her every single moment, it would seem as if she needed help. As if she had some serious illness. You'd be fueling the rumors, Hiiro," Trowa explained placidly. "She'll be fine on her own."

Duo grinned. "Yea, there's only so much one person can do in fifteen minutes."

Trowa glanced at Duo and smiled amusedly. "If I were superstitious, I'd say you just jinxed us, Duo."

…………………

"Will you dance?"

Usagi started and looked up from the book on Van Gogh that she had borrowed from the man who had previously been reading. She blinked at the hand in front of her and stared at Hiiro's bland expression.

She eyed him suspiciously. "This isn't some act of pity, is it? Because I understand completely that this is Minako's night and it's not as if I'm sulking about, feeling neglected."

Hiiro let his outstretched hand fall to his side. "This is only the sensible thing to do. To follow Minako around the whole evening would seem unusual and abnormal. While dancing, I'll be able to watch her and stop any disasters before they occur." He stepped back. "However, if-"

She stood up. "All right. For the mission." Usagi smiled at him challengingly. 

Nodding succinctly, he took her hand and walked to the dance floor.

…………………

"What was Miss Relena like?"

Even though they were trying to keep physical contact to a minimum, Usagi could feel him tense as they continued the dance steps, Hiiro keeping close watch on Minako out of the corner of his eye. 

He didn't reply. Usagi sighed and decided to elaborate. "I mean … I know, of course, from the news that she's gentle, pacifistic, caring, sensitive, helpful. But what was she like in real life? Was she often happy? Did she ever act immature? Did she like to smile a lot?"

Again, a wall of silence met her questions. Usagi pursed her lips and was about to give up before Hiiro finally opened his mouth. 

"She was often happy before the …  illness. She loved to smile. And at times, she acted immature," he offered stiffly. 

Usagi grinned to herself. _Now that, __ladies and gentlemen, _is what I like to call progress._ "You loved her, did you not?"_

She sigh again as he refused to answer. "Did she love you? I'm sure she did. She seems as if she'd love anybody."

Hiiro's silence answered her question more adequately than his clipped, concise words could ever have. Usagi smiled up at him thoughtfully. 

Despite his blank exterior and the carved expression of indifference on his face, Hiiro was desperate, weak, and miserable inside. Usagi's smile transformed into a frown. She was sure Relena was always on his mind and that Hiiro Yui loved Relena Darlian beyond words. Possibly more so than Relena had loved Hiiro. 

…………………

Minako didn't show any sign of acknowledging his entrance and presence beside her until at least five minutes had ticked by. "Why'd you follow me here?" She rested her elbows on the ledge of the balcony and glanced questioningly at the stoic figure beside her.

"To guard you. Anything can happen out here." The answer was instantaneous. 

She continued to stare at him. In the brief week and a half she had spent with Hiiro, Minako had never truly looked at him, partially due to fear and partially due to moments of white rage for what he did to Relena. She had most certainly never thought Hiiro Yui was in any way handsome. But outside, seemingly miles away from the bustle and chatter of the mansion, this fact became clear to her. She studied his straight nose, his delicate bone structure, contradicted by his stubborn jaw, and the smooth, flat planes of his cheeks. 

Minako looked away. 

"What is it like to be Hiiro Yui?" It was a strange question – even she thought so – and she wasn't entirely sure who it was directed to. "I'd always imagined it as if I were encased in a glass box. As if I can only sullenly watch the world but not step beyond the boundaries of a simple cube. Of panicking but calmly breathing as the oxygen dwindles and disappears." She stopped and frowned at the moon. "Of drawing everything within myself and enclosing myself in darkness … of taking others' worries and problems on my own shoulders without complaint and in an ultimate sacrifice." Minako turned to gaze at the figure beside her and noted his rigid posture.

"In fact … I'd even go as far as to say you're an allegorical Christ."  She shrugged. 

"I haven't sacrificed anything."

Minako started and almost laughed at his lack of insight. "Of course you have. You've sacrificed Relena, have you not?"

…………………

The promised the romance … albeit a bit weak and fairly … umm … inconclusive? :D And I dropped more hints … at least I think I dropped hints … ; Do most people write their chapters in 10 pt. font? ; Bad for the eyes … :x But anyhow … thanks for reading, guys. :D Yours, Angel.

**Delphine**** Pryde: Here's the next chapter! :D**

**Liquid Ice**: Warping Usagi … heh heh. I think it makes sense too …and I'm sure that's why there's nothing against making her more graceful, etc … but still. It's very refreshing to read a good fic where she is actually kept very close to her anime personality [the one most of us are familiar with]. :D Yesyes … Hiiro. Lol. I cringed when Dr. J said "he's really quite a kind-hearted boy". xD  As for Hiiro/Usagi pairing … I'm not sure how  I settled upon that [for a majority of my fics] and … I don't know. :x Maybe because Usagi's personality is so flexible. xD Thinking completely with the mind, that is. :D The triangle. Hmm … I want to prolong it because I really can't decide. ^^; So any … urk … inequalities are probably unintentional until later chapters. xD But for your theory … it definitely makes sense and I might end up doing something like that … but up until now, any hints toward it have been accidental. xD But please do keep guessing … a lot of my ideas are either branches off yours or … heh, exact copies of yours. xD Maybe you shouldn't keep guessing … I'm cheating. xD Wow … I'm very flattered that I'm one of the two you still read … o_o It makes me want to skip to school … lol.

**Serenity Angel**: Thank you! :D Hopefully Cry will be updated soon, by the way. :D

**Kazzeh**** Sodapop: LOL. Strangle away. xD **

**Tenshi**** Hotaru: Yay! Tension-reliever. :D No time limit apparently … :3 Hmm … the one-act play is going on at my school … ; Sounds fun … even if you're driving yourself crazy. xD**

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell: I was veryvery tempted … with the playing pranks thing … lol. But I didn't think I could've pulled it off very well. xD **

**Cheska**: Lol … I should know to expect Usa/Hiiro from you. xD And it's great to have you back. :3

**Gackt**** Camui: Hmm … I think I've heard that coffee makes people irritated largely when they suffer from withdrawal … lol. And irritation is a symptom of caffeine withdrawal. ; ::shrugs:: Minako … heh heh … I'm starting to equate Minako with Usagi. o_o Very bad thing … :x Are midterms over yet for you? ; **

**AznxAngel**: Lol … some Minako/Hiiro hints … he seems preoccupied with her. :D But no final decisions yet … probably no final decisions until … next summer. Lol. xD

**Water Angel1**: Yay! I received a pardon … :3 And caffeine scene was … interesting … "unique". xD I think I was half-delirious while writing it. ; Had to go back in the morning and correct a billion typos. xD 


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own either GW or SM.

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Chapter 9

"First of all, Hiiro, my buddy, you have obviously not taken dancing lessons. The way you danced with Usagi! It was as if you two were standing on opposite banks of the Mississippi! And secondly, you don't go up to a pretty girl standing by herself on the balcony and say you went to guard her!" Duo glared at him but gave up after five seconds of futility, sighing. "It disrupts all codes of conduct between the two sexes! It makes the world unbalanced! It's like…" he fished fruitlessly for a comparison, "…like a fat woman trying to stand on one leg!"

That had to have been one of his worst similes ever. The mental picture it called up was halfway between droll and excruciating.

Only Quatre laughed and Trowa suppressed a smile. Wufei had long fled the room, giving some ridiculous excuse about needing to floss his teeth. Duo had the impression that the Asian had no idea what was coming out of his mouth. 

Hiiro had stopped paying attention to him when he started nitpicking about his fashion sense. That was perhaps fifteen minutes ago. 

"Are you finished yet?" 

Duo made a face. "It was your choice to stay the night here with us, not mine. I'm simply giving you some pointers. After all, Lady Luck is infatuated with you and fate loves you to pieces – I would give anything to be the personal guard of those two." He rolled his eyes and plucked a mint from the glass tray on Quatre's coffee table. "Honestly, you could be a _little_ more accommodating. It's not as if we're asking you to giggle or anything."

"I see that it was a mistake to stay here after all," Hiiro sighed, staring glumly at the mint tray. 

Duo ignored him, eyeing him critically. "You could try smiling … that might brighten up your complexion. That is, if you're not too busy enjoying that perpetual rain cloud of yours."

"I do _not_ smile. At least not at your disposal," he paused and pondered his next move, "moron." Hiiro mentally groaned. He has now fallen from his pedestal of self-righteousness to two-syllabled words that kindergarteners used to look "cool". 

"_I'm_ a moron? I'll show you a moron! A moron is somebody who doesn't recognize opportunity even after it roughs him up a bit! A moron is somebody wh-"

"Please, you two," Quatre interjected. Duo stopped short and realized he had leapt to his feet due to his frustration. "We spent less than a week planning for a party of that magnitude to welcome 'Miss Relena' back … I really want to just … rest for tonight." 

Trowa nodded. "And you're arguing like a bunch of pregnant women."

Duo blinked and Hiiro's right eye twitched. 

…………………

"Nothing in there." Hiiro threw the morning paper down almost triumphantly. "The entire article about the welcoming back yesterday did nothing except shout praises to Relena and Quatre. The word peculiar didn't even come up."

Quatre offered him a smile while the others continued drowning themselves in coffee. "That's a relief." He nodded at Hiiro's cup, inviting for him to sit down as well but Hiiro shook his head no, declining. 

"I need to head back to Relena's. There's a diplomatic meeting tomorrow morning in Dallas and we're flying there this afternoon."

The blonde put his cup down and frowned. "I never got the memo."

Hiiro shrugged shortly. "It wasn't announced to the press either."

"That's unusual. Perhaps it'd be better to watch things more closely."

"They specifically forbade me from the meeting room." Hiiro thinned his lips and looked ready to roll his eyes.

Quatre sighed. "If the ESUN weren't so supportive of Miss Relena at the moment, I'd think they're trying to drug her or something." He frowned to his reflection in the coffee mug and shook his head. "Keep a close eye on them, okay?"

"I always do." With that terse, almost unpleasant reply, Hiiro swung his jacket over his shoulders and headed for the front door.

Duo glanced up blearily from his coffee and squinted dazedly. "Did Hiiro just leave?"

Quatre shot him a faintly maternal look. "Go back to drinking your coffee, Duo."

…………………

"We're leaving," he clipped authoritatively, barely glancing at his audience. "There is a Dallas conference tomorrow morning and you need to be ready to go before 4:00 today." 

Minako stared at him puzzledly. "Why so early?"

Hiiro shrugged dismissively. "So that terrorists and assassins don't know exactly when Relena would get there." He paused and glanced around. "Where is Miss Usagi?"

She sighed and pursed her lips. "Usagi's still sleeping."

"Wake her up then. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Minako raised an eyebrow and shot him a look. "Have _you_ ever tried to wake Usagi up?" 

He waved an indifferent hand, already heading out of the room. "Jump on her, drag her – I don't care. Just wake her up."

She made a face and stared sourly after him.

…………………

"She's still asleep," Hiiro observed darkly, shooting Usagi a sidelong glance. The limousine was gliding smoothly toward the Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Hiiro's watch informed him that though they weren't going to be late, they certainly were cutting it close. 

Minako glared at him. "Really now."

"When does she usually wake up?"

"When people stop disturbing her sleep." Minako jumped as Usagi straightened and yawned. "You really shouldn't talk about other people when they're right next to you." She paused and glanced around. "I'm in a car."

"How astute." Hiiro frowned to himself, ignoring the annoyed glance Usagi shot him. It was a line he often used with Duo but certainly not with blonde strangers. 

"…to Dallas for some kind of meeting," Minako explained.

Usagi leaned back in the seat. "Oh."

"And you're going to be Miss Relena this time."

She shot back up. "What!?"

"Don't worry about it, you just have to listen to what is said and report it back to Hiiro."

"B-b-but! I haven't even practiced! I've forgotten everything! I-I-I have amnesia!"

Minako placed both hands firmly on Usagi's shoulders and shook her. "You do not have amnesia and if I have to pose as Miss Relena, then so do you."

Usagi sighed and pouted, whining, "Why me? Hiiro knows the most about Miss Relena! Make him do it."

"Well I'm sure if Hiiro grew his hair out, dyed it blonde, and got rid of that horrid I-hate-the-world look, he'd be happy to. But until that happens, you have to go as Miss Relena." 

Hiiro scowled and shot Minako an I-hate-the-world-but-I-hate-you-more look. 

Usagi whimpered. "Must I?"

Minako grinned. "You must."

…………………

Hiiro slowly let out a long breath and gingerly relaxed his shoulders. They ached from tension.

One hour had passed since they boarded the plane together. One hour of an approximately three hour ride. Upon boarding, Usagi had scrambled for the window seat while Minako bartered with him for the one next to the aisle, demanding it because she hated the cramped spaces between seats and because she wanted first dibs on the promised airplane dinner. 

So now he was in the middle seat, between two blondes, who had both nodded off and decided the most comfortable item to use as a pillow was his shoulder. Duo would be in ecstasy had he been in the same situation but Hiiro, instead, was barely able to keep himself from bolting. 

He glared blatantly at the airline attendant who walked by and smiled at the cute picture of two almost identical dozing blondes each leaning on one shoulder. 

Strange. That was the only word to describe the feeling. Not because he had never experienced a girl borrowing his shoulder – Relena had often unconsciously leaned upon him in sleep, the sweet smell of her hair intoxicating. Hiiro frowned to himself and tried to settle more comfortably in his seat. No, it wasn't the situation in itself that was strange. Instead, it was the inexorable desire to not disturb them, to keep their faces in that sweet, unpretentious, and unadulterated mold. To refrain from contaminating them like he did Relena. 

Hiiro sighed again, this time more heavily. His chest hurt and a dense layer of melancholy fog seemed to have followed him ever since he could remember. But for this moment, this brief, white, singing moment of peace, he was surrounded by innocence and chastity, by two girls that together created and image of the completely unsoiled Relena. And he would surrender all of him, what he was and what he will be, to keep them as they are. 

…………………

He shrank back in his seat as both Minako and Usagi blinked blearily at the sound of the approaching food cart and stretched their arms out, yawning and barely missing his head. 

"Are we almost there yet?" Usagi asked dazedly, gazing out of the window at the climax of a sunset. 

"We should arrive within half an hour of finishing dinner," he replied and glanced up, gauging the progress of the airline attendant in distributing food. Minako was staring at it equally intently though most likely not making estimates of its speed of travel like he was. 

"Are we going anywhere after we get there?" Usagi pressed, reluctantly turning her eyes away from the food cart as well. Even airplane food seemed like nectar and ambrosia at the moment. 

Hiiro nodded shortly. "We'll head to the hotel then the rest of the night is free time for you and Miss Minako," he paused before adding ominously, "but I would have to follow the two of you wherever you go."

Usagi blinked and sighed at Hiiro's glowering expression. Minako was ordering her share now. 

"And you, miss?" 

Usagi started and grinned sheepishly. "Can I have both choices?" The airline attendant shot her a perplexed look but complied.

"And you, sir?"

"Just coffee is fine."

Both Minako and Usagi turned to stare at him worriedly. 

"You really should eat something, Hiiro," Minako urged. Sometime between staying in the same house with him, sharing meals, and falling asleep on his shoulder, she had lapsed into informality. 

Usagi nodded vehemently. "Yes, yes, you really should. Skipping meals is horrible for your health."

"I know that," he snarled but regretted it as Usagi's eyes widened and watered. He glanced to Minako and saw her glaring at him. 

Usagi glanced down and away. "I'm sorry. It reminded you of Miss Relena, right?"

He didn't reply. 

"We understand how deeply hurt you are by her state but the least you could do is pull yourself together and stay healthy for her so that when she comes back, you wouldn't have to recuperate for a few months before the two of you celebrate." Minako's glare had softened but her tone wasn't altogether kind. 

Such optimistic words. 

The airline attendant glanced from Minako to Usagi to Hiiro, not knowing what to do but settling for pouring the coffee. 

"Fine," he finally agreed, grudgingly. 

Minako and Usagi shared a victorious glance.

…………………

"Come on now, Hiiro! Usagi and I want to go shopping!" Minako grinned at his faintly annoyed look while Usagi giggled. He refused to stoop to pleading. 

He barely suppressed a gasp as both girls, again one on each side, caught hold of his hand and held it, continuing chattering as if the gesture was not almost as momentous as Relena's kissing him. 

And as they climbed out from the limousine in front of Dallas's Galleria Mall, the action was repeated. But this time he relaxed into it, forfeiting himself for one evening. 

When he had first been told of Relena's hospitalization, he had been exposed to the sharp wind from which he was protected for the year or so they were together. Once again, he had to provide shelter for himself and summon warmth without her there. Relena's presence had been like white wings, beautiful and majestic, surrounding him in soft sanctity, her smile producing a radiant glow, glorious and calm. When she had left, the wings had withered, died, rendered to brittle, slate gray slivers, sharp enough to cut. 

But here he was, his heart still beating painfully within his chest, holding hands with two girls who laughed without inhibition, smiled so cheerfully, and spread supremely magnificent wings around him. And as they stepped into Macy's, clasped hands swinging back and forth frivolously, a small smile touched his lips. The few months of strife that had passed without Relena there was worth it in exchange for this ephemeral night … this evanescent moment. 

After all, life did have loveliness to sell. And two examples were standing right beside him.

He tightened his hold onto their hands. 

And it was warm.

…………………

There it is~! I haven't updated in so long. xD But hopefully this semi-makes up for it. :D The relationship between the three has become warmer and more personal, Hiiro has relaxed a bit … I suppose only from here can I develop things romantically. --; [we're making progress after all … xD] However … I had to push various other … vital events back. xD;; Which means that this fic has been lengthened another chapter … --; How depressing. xD But anyhow~ Thanks for reading~! 3 Yours, Angel.

Notes:

1. The repeating idea that life had loveliness to sell and that to trade years of strife for one moment of joy is worth it is inspired by the poem Barter by Sara Teasdale. :D

**LiLSeReNiTiE**: xD Relena isn't dead – she just has anorexia. --; As for Hiiro/Usagi … we'll see. :D

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Anonymous: Lol … is unique good? xD ::offers you sugar cubes::

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Ashika: Ack~ I do care, I do care!!! Where are you…? ;-;

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Leeana-Marie-Malfoy: Lol … it seems like a possibility … what with the previous chapter and all. xD But again … we'll see. :D

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Mimi: Haihai~ I updated … but this time it took me … two months-ish. xD

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AznxAngel: I don't know … ::sigh:: xD I keep changing my mind. xD 

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Black Aura-sama: Thankyouthankyou~ :D I luff the word "luff" xD And I think it continues to be twisty. xD

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Tenshi-Hotaru: Still! Acting … it sounds fun. :D [veryvery] Good luck~ [is it too late already? O.o;;] 

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Gackt Camui Loves You: Lol … I love that thought … Minako hating Hiiro. xD I luff Minako … xD I'm not sure what exactly is going on with Hiiro … --; Andand … I think that I meant in the rush of things, they forgot about briefing on acquaintances so Hiiro squeezed a portion of it in while traveling to the welcome back party itself. xD;;; And I love Gackt Camui back, by the way~ :D 

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Kazzeh Sodapop: Lol … --; I think my idea of "romance" is twisted… xD ::sigh:: It's painful to write. xD I cringe whenever I do. :D But I'll try my hardest~ And sooner or later, there will most definitely be romance. xD 

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Water Angel1: Thank you~ ::happysigh::

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Bjv: Lol … I'm still trying to build up to romance in general … xD;;; But there will definitely be more Minako/Hiiro scenes later on. :D

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Usagi Asia Maxwell: O.O;;; I'd like to see you write it. :D ::dokidoki:: Onegaishimasu~ :3 I really don't think I'd be able to pull it off. xD

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Liquid Ice: And an interesting life story at that~ ::nodnod:: :3 I actually never meant to confuse anybody .. .I was trying to keep it fair … and indiscernible. xD;;; But … I got a little carried away with the Hiiro/Minako conversation … xD;;; I really don't know how much explanation I'm going to do … lol … I forget to sometimes. xD;;; And I agree … there's just something about Hiiro/Usagi … but, strangely, I don't quite as attached anymore … maybe it's because I'm being exposed to other ideas … but either or, Hiiro/Usagi still seems to provide a sanctuary. xD;;; I still love the couple. :D And I still feel incredibly flattered … being compared to a drug and all … xD ::dokidoki:: Thank you~ 3


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **No own. Duh. xD;;;

Warnings: No proofreading went into this chapter … lol. Scared? xD

Note: Semi-important note at very bottom after replies to your lovely reviews. :DDD Enjoy~

**Chapter 10: This Crazy World…**

It was uncommon for Usagi to be so nervous and lacking composure.

Well, she might not have full authority to say that since she's only known the girl for a week and a half, but as Minako straightened Usagi's shirt and batted away her fretting hands, she had to smile. It felt as if they had been together forever, she and Usagi and, yes, even Hiiro. It felt as if they were inseparable … though Hiiro might beg to differ. 

"They're going to see right through me the instant I walk through that door," Usagi whispered, gazing out the window and wringing her hands. "I'm nowhere as smart as Miss Relena," she turned back to look plaintively at Minako.

She smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry about it. Remember all our studying up on Miss Relena? Nobody knows half as much as we do with the exception of those five. And you can always bluff your way through."

Usagi stared at her before laughing. "Right, I can always just say 'hmm, I agree' to everything." She struck a comical pose, rubbing her chin thoughtfully and raising an eyebrow. "Of course, I might be laughed out of the room." 

Minako grinned. "That's the spirit!"

…………………

"Take deep breaths," Minako whispered as she straightened Usagi's dress shirt. "But don't look as if you're gulping in air."

"That's impossible!" Usagi hissed at her, already short of breath. She bit her lip. "I haven't been keeping up with current events at all." 

Minako straightened and pursed her lips. "What about that reporter friend of yours? The really pretty, dark-haired one?"

Usagi rolled her eyes. "She manages a gossip column. It'd be useful only if Mr. So-and-so in there were fascinated by the latest rumor about whom Miss Relena is sleeping with."

Both of them automatically turned toward Hiiro who frowned. 

"So?" Minako prompted. 

He stared back at her blandly. "So what? Was I sleeping with Relena?"

Usagi blanched and Minako grinned. "Yes, were you slee-ow!" She turned around and, rubbing the back of her head, glared at Usagi. 

"What she meant was no, could you update me on current events?" 

Hiiro blinked. "The most major current event you two participated in already - Miss Relena's coming back. Other than that … you don't have to worry about it. Just repeat back to me everything that goes on in that meeting."

Usagi sighed and turned to look at the closed door. "If that's what you'd wanted, you could've just sent a tape recorder in. It would have done a better job than I will."

Minako smiled and patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Usagi. Hiiro will be out here in the hall the entire time."

"Hn."

"That's not reassuring," she muttered to herself before turning the knob and stepping in.

…………………

Everybody stood up when she entered.

"Miss Relena, please." The President indicated a seat next to him. Usagi smiled in return and gratefully took it. 

Everybody sat down again.

"We were just discussing how your recent returning from your … vacation," he shot her a dubious look at this, "will make prospects much brighter than they had been." He hesitated and smiled, folding his hands. "How should I put it … we were quite worried there for awhile."

Usagi fought for words. "Mr. President, I am sorry about my recent absence but I hope that we can effectively return to business."

"Yes, of course. Lady Une? Would you please give us all an update?"

With a blank face, Une stood up and strode to the other end of the table, opposite of the President. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we come here today with this room completely soundproof and laced with extreme measures of security. That is because this meeting is a prelude to war."

…………………

"How do you think she is doing in there?" Minako whispered quietly out in the hall, glancing up at a standing Hiiro.

"I don't think you should be here. Anybody might come by and mistake you for Relena."

Minako bit her lip and stared apprehensively at the closed door. "That's not the problem, is it, Hiiro? Are you worried? Is Usagi in danger? Tell me why you're worried."

He didn't say anything for a moment and then slowly, hesitantly, he started, "It has nothing to do with her personal safety."

"Personal safety," she repeated quietly, trying to hold back the red mist of alarm and fear. 

"_Most likely_ it has nothing to do with her personal safety," he amended. "But the walls around that room are thick. At least half a foot of reinforced concrete. That is without counting the wooden frame and the heavy insulation. No sound will travel through it. Nor will it travel through the door, wooden but with a steel core." He paused and sighed to himself. "There are a myriad of important people in there. If they all died at once…well. You can imagine the catastrophe that will cause."

Minako shivered and rubbed her arms, staring at the door. "It's like we're sending her to the wolves."

…………………

"This is the position of Earth to the colonies." Lady Une struck with a pointer at the screen onto which the powerpoint was projected. "This conglomeration of lights here," she pointed, "is colony L2 with a population of less than one billion people. In AC 201, it surpassed L1's population censuses and is projected to overtake L3 in AC 218, thirteen years from now. That makes L2, currently, the second largest colony cluster as well as the most rapidly developing one."

She spoke without having to glance down at the sheaf of papers in front of her, lights casting an almost eerie glow on her glasses. 

"Two months ago, on December 11th of A.C. 204, L2 made a sealed shipment to an anonymous receiver on Earth, still unidentified. The arrival of this shipment, if everybody here will recall, coincides with the second major outbreak of SARS in Canton."

Usagi could hear her heart's strong, accelerated beat, and tried to hide the trembling of her hands under the table, wiping sweaty palms on her dress skirt.

"Due to effective management and because security was present nearby, the outbreak was mostly contained without making too much an impact on the news. However, several other similar packages were intercepted in the last two months, numbers totaling to, " for the first time, Lady Une glanced down, "twenty-three different shipments. They were transported in airtight, pressurized containers. Upon analysis, these packages contained various popular albeit outdated biological weapons such as the first case of SARS, anthrax, tularemia, and Ebola."

There was utter silence in the room. The air conditioning hummed in the background.

"The doses were concentrated to such a degree that if all previous shipments were released in major metropolises and core areas, we would be experiencing something as extreme as the Bubonic Plague in medieval ages."

Lady Une sighed and let her hands fall to her sides. "So far there have been no repercussions to our intercepting these packages to this unknown receiver but at the same time, there have been no leads nor clues as to who sent the container or who will receive it. This meeting is somewhat an emergency largely because in the past two weeks, shipments have increased in frequency so that almost every day, one is confiscated." She hesitated. "We don't know if we're getting all of them. Security has been tightened but … there is no guarantee that twenty-three is the total number of containers shipped."

The President cleared his throat. "However, due to this alarming increase in frequency, we have called this meeting of only those who can put a stop to it or negotiate a means to avoid a violent confrontation with L2," he stated, looking pointedly at Usagi. "Miss Relena, you are the most direct and most trusted link between Earth and the colonies. We hope that you might negotiate with L2 administrative officials so that they can raise a sum and send out a professional search party."

"Yes, I will attempt to do so," she responded quietly.

"However, realize that if you and various other diplomats fail, then we will have no choice but to declare war on the colony of L2. This will cause a most dismal chain of events as L1 is allied with L2 and will come to its aid and L3 is allied with us and will be inevitably pulled into the war. In this second galactic war, only L5 and other developing and peripheral colonies have the chance of remaining neutral. It will be once again, a universal war."

Usagi stood shakily. "Mr. President, I don't think now is a proper time to be threatening war. Until certain proof is discovered, we have nothing against L2 other than that one person - _one person_ - is shipping biological weapons. We mustn't allow one person to trigger a galactic war! I believe that we should continue to search for this person, enlisting the help of the colonies, and until definite proof comes, we should refrain from declaring war and instead focus entirely o-" 

The blue-haired woman opposite of her, silent until now, slammed her hands onto the table as she stood up. Usagi jumped, her words faltering. 

"Miss Relena, you mustn't be so presumptuous and insolent with Mr. President." The blue-haired woman looked up, revealing solemn, azure eyes. "Until proof comes? What if proof comes in the realization of another Black Death? We must be realistic here, Miss Relena, and at times, this realism can translate to cruelty. If you are unwilling to protect Earth and the colonies at all costs, you are unwelcome in this council-"

"That is enough, Miss Ami," the President's baritone voice broke through her calm and deliberate tirade. He turned back to Usagi. "Miss Relena, I admire your idealism but, like Miss Ami has said, we must consider reality as well. Until we get a definite and positive response from L2, the threat of war will remain."

Usagi hid her clenched fists behind her back and nodded numbly, sitting down. Miss Ami slowly lowered herself as well, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Any other questions? Ideas?"

A general murmur of no came in reply. 

The President stood. "Well then. Needless to say, the things discussed in this conference do not leave this room. This meeting is adjourned. Miss Ami, Miss Relena, please stay for a moment."

The twenty-something notables filed out of the room silently. Lady Une nodded once at the President and closed the door tightly after her. 

"Miss Relena, Miss Ami, I have decided that the two of you are obviously the most adept diplomats we currently have, with you, Miss Relena, being the more experienced," he nodded at her. "This L2 business is tricky and there is a necessity to not only present a façade for the masses but also to act calm in front of the council and intimidating in front of the L2 bureaucracy. Please, Miss Relena, Miss Ami, follow these guidelines when traveling around Earth and to L2. I will give you two months at most to get a positive response from L2. If that fails … well-" 

He never finished his sentence.

Usagi fell back a step as Ami casually pulled the knife out of the President's neck and wiped it clean against her dress pants. Blood was still gushing out of Mr. President's jugular but his face had already slackened. 

"A-Ami-"

"Please don't call me that name, _Miss Relena. _I'm not particularly attached to it." The knife gleamed in her hand. "I never intended to kill you but … your presence is a surprise, _Miss Relena._ Or are you? There are certain discrepancies. Your hair is darker than that color, _Miss Relena. _Your eyes are much grayer and you never address Mr. President as Mr. President. You are the only one in the council who simply refers to him as 'sir'. Are you comprehending me, imposter?"

It felt as if her whole body was shaking and she felt like crumpling to the ground. The most dangerous weapon on her person, Usagi realized, was her hairpin. 

"If you promise to not scream, I'll promise to stop further shipments of biological weaponry from L2 to Earth. How does that sound?"

"Th-there's already enough here to start a plague! Who do you think you're trying to con here?" she replied with false bravado. "Tell me, why do you want to incite war between the colonies and Earth again? Why are you here? Who sent y-" She gasped as Ami carefully laid the knife against her throat. 

"Be quiet," she ordered in an almost cordial tone. "You are not Miss Relena. Your death will mean nothing to the ESUN. It will never be recorded. The hierarchy is already corrupt, do you know that? No, no of course you don't. Nobody does yet." 

"Please, whoever you are, please think this over! What can you have to gain by a universal war? What-"

"Oh please. Not that idealism again. I have everything to gain through war. Just like I have everything to lose if I let you li-"

There was a resounding clap of thunder and the knife clattered on the floor, Ami slumping to an unrecognizable heap. 

"Are you all right, Usagi?" The quiet, controlled voice seemed to echo in her mind. 

Her panicked eyes turned to the open door and then traveled to two joyously familiar faces. 

"Minako … Hiiro…"

"Oh, Usagi, I was so scared! I…" Minako hugged her fiercely, the rest of her words muffled. 

"H-how did you know to come? This room is soundproof." 

Hiiro expertly holstered his gun. "We were given a tip-off." 

"Yes, one of the people that left the room glanced at us and told us that 'conspiracy is afoot'. But we hadn't expected it to take so long to break through the door. To think that we might have … that you might have…"

Usagi glanced wildly about. "How can we explain this? The President is dead and…"

"We're your witnesses, Usagi. Or well … we're Miss Relena's witnesses." Minako smiled shakily at her. "War is coming … it's so close that I can taste it."

"No … no, we must remain hopeful. I have two months - no, less now because of this - but I - we - have some time to convince L2 to help and to convince Earth to accept its help. There is still hope … there is still-Hiiro?"

With pupils dilated, he stared at the two of them, seeing Minako and Usagi and then seeing two Relenas, Minako and Usagi, two Relenas, Min-

"Hiiro! Snap out of it!" His eyes focused on Relena's clear blue ones.

No, not Relena. Usagi. Or Minako?

He could hear himself panting.

Usagi's broken expression, her painfully courageous words … Minako's hesitant smiles, her despair over the inevitability of war…

Who were these two people?

For one brief but frightening moment, he had seen Relena in their place.

No, not Relena. At least, not the original Relena.

It was already beginning. The chain reaction was already in motion, creating an avalanche of events, of hatreds. 

He was already affecting them. With sorrow and anger and fear. They were already tainted.

For the first time since news of Relena's sickness, Hiiro felt hot tears burn in his eyes.

…………………

WAHH!!! I'm so HAPPY! It's finished. Finally. What a painful chapter. xD Not quite as painful as the next Cry one is going to be, I bet. --; Daskete. xD Unexpected turn of events … lol … yes, even to me. xD [I was typing this up at around 2:30-ish a.m. … on a school night! So my way of thinking was kind of warped. xD] Because of this idiotic chapter, I will have to tweak the plot some … meaning … well. You guys don't know what it means yet. xD Muahaha. The sweet taste of power. xD Kidding. :D Thanks for reading! Yours, Angel. [why do I love this song so much?? xD Was listening to Numb – Linkin Park and Overdrive – Katy Rose ~~ Tati-chan's recommendation … o.o;; those two songs … over and over and over and over and over… :3]

******Note**: Due to my utter stupidity and lack of foresight, Ami was used _again_. O.O;;; Thank you to **Black Aura-sama** who pointed this out to me. --; So if you care for details, I changed Usagi's boss from the beginning of the story to Setsuna. :D Cheater that I am, yes. xDxD Thank you~

**SAVA****:** Lol thank you. :D Minako/Hiiro is cute … hrm … we'll see. xD Plot going through some editing … xD

**Deidre Marie:** Yes, yes, yes!! ::tears of joy:: Veryvery important theme/concept in the story. :D I'm glad you have described it so aptly. :D Yes, yes I find the swinging [well, not really swinging quite yet … but according to planning, there will be some severe swinging later. xD] between the two girls highly amusing. xD Over time, I have developed an acute penchant for distributing torture to my readers. It's now a hobby. :D Kidding. xD But yes, according to the previous outline … there wasn't going to be anything definite until, I believe, four chapters before the end. xD Which is a loooonng way off from now. :D But now that I have to edit it … maybe I can break that record. xD Lol. As for couples … I never really analyze the potential of them … xD;;; The final couple is more so based on turns of events … of course, along the way, I expect to encounter revelations about the characters, etc … but haha. I think whatever I'm struck with at around 3 or 4 in the morning goes. xD Thanks for the thoughtful review. :3

**Lethargic Gackt Camui**: :DDD!!! The special moment between Minako and Hiiro the chapter before? O.O;; That was special? Lol. It almost seemed like one of those strange opium den conversations … xD Kidding. :D Lol. Duo. :DDD!!! Duo-Hiiro interaction is very amusing. xD It brings joy to my life. xD Lolol. And your penname changing-ness is so cute that I want to smother you. With love. xD Jkjk. :D

**Crazygurl70:** Thankyou…! ;-; Lol. Not so much comedy in this chapter … nor romance … nor angst for that matter. xD It's a mutation. xD And you are very correct .. xD It's about 1/3 done. Wow. 1/3 already. And what have I done other than introduce conflict upon conflict…? xD;; Ah well. Something will come out of it. I promise. :D 

**Mimi:** Lolol. xD It's less than two months! You know who you just reminded me of? Sohma Kagura from Fruits Basket. xD Uaaaa, she's adorable. x3 [I must gain at least one Fruits Basket convertee per day. You are my target. xD] 

**Dark Universe:** Lol. Sorry to make you wait so long! Here's the lover-ly-y update. xD Well … monstrous update. xD Sorry. I'm in a strange mood. xD

**BJV:** Lol. It amuses me. xD As for Usagi's tearing up … lol. I was actually attempting to make her more … I dunno … human? She seemed kind of stiff in previous chapters so I was worried. xD Yes, the equilibrium between the two choices must be maintained. :D But thank you so much for analyzing the couples … it helps me think. :D

**Tenshi-Hotaru****:** Lol. Am I in time for this next play? :D What CD is it? O.o;;;

**Leeana-Marie-Malfoy****:** Yupyup. OOC-ness. The bane of fanfiction. xD Well … this repercussions of the last chapter haven't quite caught up to Hiiro yet … they will. By next chapter, I am sure. :D However, naturally, there must first be a phase of angst and denial. xD Lol. 

**AznxAngel****:** O.O;; Funny how you used that word "action" … xD Did you mean romance? Lol. Well. There is "action". xDxD And I particularly liked the holding hands part too. :3 Reminds me of Fruits Basket … ::happysigh:: Lol. 

**Lizzy**** Black:** Lol. I'm glad! Minako/Hiiro is cute. :D But so is Usagi/Hiiro … ahhh the choices. xD What will Hiiro do? O.o;; Love triangles … I used to love them almost obsessively. Lol. Thank you~

**Black Aura-Sama:** LOL. That is hilarious. xD And so very soap opera-y. :D I hope it doesn't get as twisted as that … but we'll see. :D [I say that a lot … o.o;; Is it a bad sign? xD] 

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell:** YES! WRITE! And send it to me! Lol. I really want to see it. xD And friendly love is so sweet … lol. And much less angsty. Yes. xD

**Water Angel1:** Sadly … no signs of last chapter in here … lol. Hiiro doesn't do much … o.o;; Well, if you consider saving Usagi and killing Ami "not doing much" … xD But next chapter … heh heh … ::rubs hands::

**Xixi****:** Lol. I am completely indifferent to Relena. But I have seen certain doujinshi pictures where she is paired up with Hiiro and … how shall I put it … very pretty? xD Am I traitor now? xDxD It's the ideal picture of her … my mental picture. And it's proved to be extraordinarily useful. :D So I use it. Relena is … usually very important to my plots. xD But well … not more fluffiness in this chapter. xD Lol. Maybe next? Or one ten chapters away from next? xDxD

**Ashika****:** See Relena? Not for a lonnnnnggg time. xD Uaaa, I've been talking to you a lot online lately. :D What a difference … xD

**Jewels14:** Lol. I don't think romance comes into serious play until at least … hrm … two chapters from now? The rosy projection. xD But from then on … it's like a rollercoaster … --; Is that a good thing? Hrmm … I must break this cycle of quick romances … but really … writing romances make me cringe … lol. xD

**Liquid Ice:** Lol.  I love characterization … it reveals so much about the characters … [to me … maybe not so much to you guys … xD] and makes writing about them so much more … personal? xD It's an intoxicating feeling. :D The pilots are in character? O.O;; Lol … whenever I watch GW, I wince … because fanfiction over the years have warped them so much! Who are these people? Lol. xD And Usagi … Usagi is causing me grief. She should be acting just like Minako … but isn't. I'm afraid I'm upsetting the delicate balance of this currently isosceles triangle … does that make sense? xD They must be equally likeable! Both couples must be equally likely! So Usagi … Usagi seems very stiff at the moment. --; Lol. Hiiro/Usagi-ness … I used to have attacks where I just had to read a cute, romantic-y, possibly angsty Usagi/Hiiro fic right that moment. xD So I ended up reading a lot of the older one shots more than once [because I'm too impatient for series xD] … and I keep feeling as if … either the fic withstands time or I get disenchanted with each rereading. xD;;; I have become more independent of Hiiro/Usagi … lol. It's a relief. Those attacks don't come anymore. xD Lol. Strange, aren't I? :D And I love pilots interaction in general. xD It seems a lot more interesting to write than senshi interaction … lol. I don't know. They seem to complement each other much more completely. xD Lol … Usagi's speech … will be, sadly, postponed. xD And definitely chaos occurred. xD Lol … threesomes … I actually considered it for a moment … but gave it up soon after. xD Too much editing to plot would have to be done … --; ~~ has reached the highest plane of laziness. :D 

**Forty Days and Forty Nights…**

Lent is here! Well … I'm one day late … but lol. And even though Catholicism isn't my specific denomination, it sounds like something fun to participate in … not to mention the basic principles of it apply to all denominations. xD But … heh heh … I'm giving up any non-school-related activities on the internet … xD [aka I'm going to die … xD] So that means I will disappear off the face of fanfiction.net until forty days from now. xDxD Will I survive? O.o;; Who knows? --; But I'm sorry for this! It's just something I really wish to participate in. :3 And this is my going away present. :D It's not much … but it's …the thought that counts? xD To be horribly cliché, that is. :D Thank you for everything! I'll be back~ Lol. Yours, Angel.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: GW SM no. xD

This chapter is posted by my brother and therefore he demanded that it be dedicated to him. Yes. So there. Dedicated to **brother**. 

Muahaha. He's my link to the internet. Oh, the internet … ;-; I miss thou. xD; But! I get Sundays! O.o;; Lol. It's actually an official rule. xD;; This chapter just wasn't done at that point … considering that I wrote it by hand … wow. I haven't done that since … a long time ago. xD;; 

So my brother copied and pasted your lovely reviews for me and is now doing fanart for me. Muahahah. I pwn him. xD "Pwn" Lol. Just had to experience using that word. --; It annoys me. 

So~ Happy reading! :D

…………………

The flight back from Dallas was delayed by twenty minutes, proof of the frailty of technology, man's most cherished accomplishment. Spring was only just settling in, the equinox still a fortnight or so away. By 7:30, it was already dark.

All window covers were pulled down on the plane, the overhead lights casting a faintly yellow and sickly gleam on the plastic walls. Every once in awhile, an infant would cry out, a short, keening wail that was quickly hushed by his mother. Mustn't wake anybody else. Mustn't stand out. Must conform. Must conform.

Usagi felt as if she were stuck in an overly ritzy bomb shelter. A tenuous sanctuary in which one had to tip-toe around without shoes, afraid that breathing too hard would trigger death, the Butterfly Effect, topple a chain of dominos. Like World War I and Stalin and Anne Frank. Like Ami and the President and Miss Relena. 

The seating was the same as on the way to Dallas when she had had nothing beyond looking stupid to worry about; she was still next to the window. What now? Could she go so far as to say she was forever changed?

Minako was sleeping, exhausted after agonizing and panicking, crying as Usagi brushed back Ami's hair and stared at her pale face. She envied Minako and her sanctity of sleep. Her escape to innocence and white peace.

Even Hiiro was dozing slightly, maybe because the effects haven't quite hit home or maybe because of man's superb adaptability. During the wars, she was sure, he had grown accustomed to sudden coups and costly mistakes; it would have been unreasonable to lose sleep over every slight reversal, every tragedy, every betrayal.

But still … still!

There had been so much blood!

It made her want to buy her face in her hands and scream, "Stop it! Please, please…" 

It made her want to retch with sorrow and lock herself in darkness where all she could hear, smell, feel was the dark and her fear.

Her hand hovered over Hiiro's shoulder. Should she disturb him to mitigate her own tragedies? She could feel the heat emanating off him.

Shaking her head, Usagi pulled away and casually slid the window cover up. It was completely dark outside. There was no sensation of movement, no titillation to distract her from that black sky. Black as hate. Black as Minako's – Hiiro's – darkened eyes when they had burst into the room, aghast. 

But veiling that black was murky, muddy red. The memory of Ami's methodical killing of Mr. President, as if she were only slaughtering a pig. A lamb. A sacrifice in the name of Aries. But she was stabbing an entire future nation! His children and his children's children and their children and so forth. 

And in that same manner, with a rolling of thunder, Hiiro had killed Ami's children and their children!

Hiiro had done it to protect her but … an entire nation! One day Ami's child could have discovered cold fusion! Could have ended war!

…………………

"And then? Did she hurt you?"

She shook her head fiercely but didn't meet his probing, calculating eyes. "No, only the President."

He frowned. "What did she say?"

"She said … she said she wanted war … she knew I wasn't Miss Relena! She scoffed at me and told me the bureaucracy was already corrupted and then…"

And then a sound of thunder, her heart pounding her ears, her world turning white as Minako ran to embrace her.

"The bureaucracy's already corrupted? The ESUN hierarchy?" Hiiro mused quietly.

"How many … how many just like her?" Trowa continued the train of thought, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed.

"There are always men who need money," Quatre sighed softly. "There's no way we can tell which are the spies, the traitors. Did she say anything else, Miss Usagi?"

She shook her head again, this time tiredly.

"And another war," Wufei murmured. 

Duo rolled his eyes. "Screw the war. The only thing good about them are the nurses. Remember, Wufei? That time in Nagasaki when I faked sick? And the _male_ nurse came and injected me with Lord knows what? Man! I thought for sure I was going to faint! He-"

"Screw the war?" Hiiro's' voice was dangerously low as he slowly looked up, glaring at Duo, eyes the color of veins. "And screw the rest of Earth? L2? All the other colonies pulled into the war? Screw Usagi and Minako and _Relena_?!" 

He was standing at this point, voice halfway between booming and screeching. "Why don't you just screw humanity?! Why don't you just screw _us_?!" He gestured wildly at the rest of the pilots. "Why don't you just screw Heero Yuy and history?!" [1]

"Hiiro, calm down, please," Quatre murmured, laying a precautionary hand on his arm.

After a prolonged silence filled with the whisper of Hiiro's panting and hate-filled glare at a wide-eyed Duo, he yanked his arm free of Quatre and stalked out of the room.

There as a long, stiff silence.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you and Miss Minako have been dragged into this. I'm … I'm…"

She felt his hand cover hers warmly.

"Don't worry. We've all sworn to keep the two of you safe, even Hiiro." He paused. She still wasn't looking up at him. The rest of the room was frigidly silent. "Especially Hiiro," he amended.

Usagi nodded halfheartedly and looked up into his blurry eyes.

Only then did she realize she was crying.

…………………

"Is Usagi okay?" she asked quietly, standing by his door. Hiiro started and turned around.

"She's still … upset."

Minako sighed and leaned heavily against the doorframe. "I'm worried."

There was a lapse into silence. Then softly, solemnly, he replied, "So am I."

…………………

The next day, news of Mr. President's assassination along with Lady Une's and Miss Relena's testimonies, was splattered all over the newspapers.

Stoves were left burning and babies untended as each family rushed to watch the news. The promise of war was again in the air as people's hearts were once more filled with dread, alarm, and resentment.

…………………

"Look, Usagi!" 

Usagi didn't look.

Minako sighed and fairly shoved the ad in the blonde's face.

Usagi batted it away.

"Well, it you won't look, I'll tell you about it." She ignored Usagi's feeble protest. "There is a Michiru Kaioh concert tonight nearby!"

No response.

Minako threw her hands up in the air. "Michiru Kaioh! Your sister! Not to mention, there'll be an art show afterwards of her paintings. Can you imagine? Michiru Kaioh painting! As if she weren't talented enough al-"

"Yes."

Minako perked up and cocked her head, glad to get a word out of her friend, however infinitesimal. "Yes?"

A pause. Usagi still didn't look up. "Yes, I can imagine."

Minako blinked, and her shoulders fell, smile drooping. "Come now, Usagi. Surely you're over it by now? It wasn't even your fault! There was nothing you could have done."

"There was something I could have done."

"Something…?" Minako bit her lip. It was as if she had unwittingly opened Pandora's box. Usagi never acted like this! Usagi was chipper, upbeat, sunny. At times, maybe a little of a perfectionist and philosopher but never like this! Like suicide was no more than five minutes away. Like she was weighed down by a lifetime of mistakes.

"Yes, something."

"Like?" She wondered if Usagi was enjoying being difficult.

"I could have been Michiru. I could have taken Ami down. I could have … I could have…" 

She could hear Usagi breathing. "Could have…?"

"Never mind."

More silence. Minako folded the newspaper carefully and sighed. "Usagi … what is your relationship with Michiru?"

"We're sisters," she stated matter-of-factly. 

"And?"

"It was just my luck that my parents adopted Perfection."

"Perfection, huh?" Minako sat down on the bed. "Perfection…"

"I'm sure you've read the stories. Michiru Kaioh composed her first sonata at age six. Michiru Kaioh mastered the violin at age seven. Michiru Kaioh came out with her signature brand at age ten. Michiru Kaioh became internationally known at age eight. Michiru Kai-"

Minako's hand was on hers, and Usagi was breathing heavily.

"Calm down, Usagi. Calm down."

She took several deep breaths and then said, brokenly, "I admired her beyond words. I admired her more than I admired my mother."

"But?"

"But in even the purest of admiration is a seed of envy. And that seed grew. And flowered. And bore fruit. And one night … one night, I was standing in Michiru's bedroom with a pocket knife."

She felt Minako's hand tense over hers.

"She was sleeping, breathing gently, my beautiful, perfect sister. And I stood like some forlorn, petulant child in pajamas I had outgrown. Walking toward her. I could see the knife in the dark. And I could see her throat."

Minako's hand was almost crushing hers now.

"But I couldn't do it." She swallowed hard. "I couldn't kill my perfect sister. I couldn't do it." She was crying now. Minako's grip had loosened considerably.

"Nobody ever found out. But I knew. I knew that that night I was five inches away from stabbing my sister. I knew that deep down I was twisted and covetous and stupid. I _knew_." She pulled her hand away from under Minako's and covered her eyes with it. 

"Everybody makes mistakes, Usagi," Minako started softly.

"Michiru never made a mistake. Michiru … Michiru…" Usagi was sobbing now, hand moving from covering her eyes to her mouth. "God, I miss her. I miss my old life, Minako. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be here anymore. I hate this. I hate Michiru, Relena, and you…you…"

And the bitter tears fell as Minako's arms encircled her, rocking her.

…………………

Hiiro sighed heavily and leaned against the door.

 _I hate this … I hate Michiru, Relena, and you … you…_

He pursed his lips and looked down. He had came to alert the two of dinner but even he knew now was not the right time.

_You…you…_

It felt as if she were speaking directly to him, hurling those sharp words of hate at him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Damn it, I'm sorry."

But there was no answer. And Relena, all of Relena, was wilting, was dying.

…………………

Ooo. I think I'm mentally unstable right now. xD; Poor CMH! It's suffering the full effects of my instability. xD;; I just realized that I labeled this a humor/romance. Lol. This is my humor. Welcome to my world. xD But writing this was .. yeesh. I couldn't tell if it were long enough until … wow. What I thought was going to be four pages ended up being two and a half. xD;;; Pathetic. --; So I had to add on to it. Which means, happily, that CMH is shorter by a chapter! Because I merged two of them. xD;;; So! Yay! Thanks for reading! I look forward to brother dearest copying and pasting more of your reviews. xD;;; Pwn pwn pwn. Lol. Still hate that word. Yours, Angel.

**Notes:**

1. "Why don't you just screw Heero Yuy and history?!" – Heero Yuy … as in the guy Hiiro is codenamed after. :D

**Black Aura-Sama:** Lol. Thank you. xD The twisted mood continues this chapter. And forty days. Wow. What have I subjected myself to? --; But it's good I have my brother … haha. ::pets:: And thank you for telling me that I used Ami twice. xD;;; I edited the prologue and the last chapter because of that. xD;;

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell:** Urk … blood. ::feels faint:: Lol. I can write about it. I just can't see it. xDxD;; Wow! Another theater person … it seems as if there are quite a few at fanfiction.net. --; Thank you! Thank you! I doubt I'll ever publish anything … --; And Usagi just got more OOC. xDxD Funny that you should mention it. xD; Work on that parody! Workworkwork! And post it! Lol. :D

**AznxAngel****:** Lol. Not much "action", sorry. xD;; Maybe I should've made the plane crash. xDxD;; I'll be sure to consider it next time they travel anywhere. :D 

**LiLSeReNiTiE****:** I couldn't believe I changed it that much either. xD;;; My poor, beautiful plot. xDxD Urk … maybe my poor, beastly plot. --; 

**Ashika****:** Hrmm … seems like you talked to my brother. Lol. And I don't hate you. At least not as much as I hate him. Well … "hate" xDxD Kidding. :DDD Was he polite? O.o;; Lol. But ha! I did update before forty days! Heh heh. :D

**Water Angel1:** Lol. I was also surprised. --; It was late at night. xD;; But it's a urk … pleasant turn. xD;; 

**Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy****:** Lol. I used to be restricted … could only get online after 8:00 p.m. and for no more than two hours total in one day. Parents used AOL controls that timed every. Single. Second. ;-; Gosh, I miss the internet. Lol. 

**Starrika****:** A veryvery tempting idea. Lol. I am just as torn as Hiiro between the two. xD Minus the Relena hallucinations. But! With luck, I hope to achieve the Hiiro more open bit and then proceed to romance. --; Hopefully. With a lot of luck. I love themes … feel good things like Hiiro becoming more open. xD I stick them in whenever … lol … and that's why everything I write seems to end up so … cheesy. xDxD Thank you for such a flattering review! :D

**Jupiter Angel:** Lol. Well. Semi giving up. I _did_, however, completely let go of AIM and any other kind of cyber chatting device. xDxD;;  And whether or not I update on Easter depends on whether or not I'm particularly inspired before then. xD;; "Inspired" =  "unstable again". :DDD

**Xixi****:** xDxD;;; I can see it. The Ami = Dorothy-ness. --; But I was blog browsing … and you know the Sailor Moon Live Action? O.O;; Lol. There was a picture of evil!Ami from the Live Action … and … I don't know. I needed somebody evil. So I thought back to that. Yes. That's all. xD;;

**Tenshi-Hotaru****:** Lol. What is this play about? :D Since I'm actually in time and everything. xD 

**Deidre Marie:** Lol. My semi-return. The return of my brother. xD;; And I think my feedback falls into the kind that you describe. xD Lol. Especially with the "burst of emotion" bit. :D But I agree … it's refreshing to get reviews like yours. :3 "Do they duct tape themselves?" Lol! I've never really drawn Relena [or analyzed] so … I'll take your word for it. xD Hrmm … that raises problems … And with the rituals … I have to admit that I've never thought about it. Lol. I feel like an idiot. xD;; I've always equated rituals with artistic processes and I didn't realize until now that what Usagi and Minako are doing, in the purest form, was acting. Artistic process! Thank you for pointing that out. :D Uaa. And I love it when people ramble in reviews. xD It gives me so many ideas, insights, etc. Your review has been extraordinarily helpful – another way to get the three closer. :D [always had been a problem for me – stepping from cold!Hiiro to I-think-I'm-in-love!Hiiro. Lol. Which is why writing romance gives me headaches. xD But thank you so much. :D]

_Forty Days and Forty Nights … ::whimper:: Is it half over yet?? Lol. ;D_


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: No GW or SM.

A bit longer than usual. Strange mood swings. Unhealthy reliance on history and dialogue. Strained humor. Weird Hiiro. Random revelations. Horrendous syntax. Other than that, it's perfect. xD;; Enjoy, por favor. :D

**Chapter 12**

"In 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, violating the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact and opening the Eastern front of World War II."

Minako stared at Usagi uneasily.

"In July of that year, Stalin announced a scorched earth policy in which everything – _everything_ – was to be destroyed in the case of a retreat." Usagi paused and halted her pacing, the room briefly but heavily silent, devoid of her clear voice. She lurched into motion again. "Late that December, the Soviets launched their counter-attack, using the Russian winter as an ally."

Minako bit her lip and shifted slightly, not knowing when to cut in.

"The operation was a vast failure. The Soviets gained back unimportant land but lost immense amounts of troops and were severely weakened. The soldiers … the soldiers were consistently short on supplies and poorly trained. USSR was not yet ready militaristically or economically for a war with a superpower like Germany."

Usagi had been pacing and reciting militaristic history for the last two hours, starting with the earliest she could remember from high school and college, in Qin Dynasty China, past Alexander the Great, past World War I, to World War II, and beyond. Her voice had not faded or faltered, droning on with uncanny accuracy and purity of tone. Minako was beginning to wonder whether or not she should be stopped and put to bed.

"The next summer, Germany launched their summer offensive, Operation Blau, targeted at the resource-rich Caucasus. It was unsuccessful as Hitler obsessively turned his attention to Stalingrad and the Soviets executed Operation Uranus, successfully exterminating the German Sixth Army. Fifty thousand men."

"Usagi…"

She ignored her. "This was a turning point for the USSR but … in every Soviet operation from then on … Operation Bagration, Vistula-Oder, Berlin … in each, they lost more men than Britain, France, Japan, and America in the war combined." Usagi sighed and slowed her pacing, her previously rigid posture slackened and slumping. "Stalin used his men like cannon fodder … their best attack was the flat out charge. To Hitler's tanks. To Satan."

"Usagi, you really should-"

Again, Minako's voice was ignored. "You know, at the end of Operation Bagration and when the Soviet army was in Warsaw, the Polish army rose against their German oppressors, thinking the Soviets would help." She pursed her lips and looked out the window, staring into cloudless cerulean. "Stalin stood by idly as Hitler brutally put the insurgency down. It was…"

"Possibly the beginning of Cold War politics, I know. Please, Usagi. Stop."

The blonde looked vaguely startled, as if just realizing that she wasn't alone in the room. "Stop? I wish I could. Stop the war."

…………………

Contrary to her usual avid eating, Usagi picked at her lunch, playing with her fork, morphing strange shadows on the sunlight-splattered table. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Minako could see Pagan frowning worriedly at Usagi idly twirling her eating utensil between her fingers. But he knew better than to ask. After all, the last conference was no secret to the rest of the household and asking Usagi, at this point, would just fan the flame, provoke an unimaginable explosion, something even more horrendous than her confession about Michiru. 

Hiiro, however, was not so emotionally insightful. 

He cleared his throat shortly. Minako's eyes widened but before she could slap a hand over his mouth or aim her fork at his head, he started, interrupting the shivering silence. "Miss Usagi, it is best that you get over this event. Keep in mind that war has _not_ yet begun and is _not_ set in stone. This point is crucial and only you and Miss Minako have the ability to veer everybody off the path of war. Of course, I understand that neither of you are, by any means, Relena or have her ability to act as a beacon of peace but … with the combined effort of Quatre and the others, avoiding war is very possible…" He trailed off and looked as if at a loss for words.

Minako arched an eyebrow but didn't look up at him. Hiiro was obviously not used to motivational speaking. His words seemed halfway between scolding and commanding. 

Usagi didn't respond. 

Hiiro sighed loudly and dropped his fork to his plate with a sharp clatter. "You know, in this way, you are absolutely nothing like her. Relena would never sulk more than one minute over anything – she would strategize and plan her next step, quivering inside, perhaps, but always with a brave face and a confident smile. You … you are nothing like that." His voice faded and cracked as he looked aside. Minako barely had time to wonder if Hiiro was going to cry.

But Usagi had finally looked up, eyes narrowed and filled with such venomous dislike that Minako briefly thought back to her previous lecture on Hitler and Stalingrad. 

She took a deep breath and began, voice controlled and low, "I don't want to be like Relena. I've tried, for all of my life, to be somebody else – to be Michiru. But I refuse to continue to try to become somebody I'm never going to be. Because it's impossible. It's absolutely impossible. I..." She stopped abruptly and turned back to studying her slowly twirling fork. 

Just as Minako was about to uneasily interrupt the silence, trying to keep the tension between the two low, Usagi started again, this time softly, waveringly. "Did you know Michiru had synesthesia? It's very rare. She could literally … _hear_ colors. So every time she wrote a sonatina or an opera … she was painting a picture, a Monet or a Degas. And in that way … I could never become Michiru. Fate held me back." Her voice melded into the silence and the twirling of the fork stopped. [1]

Minako's brow furrowed. For a brief, glancing moment, Usagi had had an imploring expression, filled with the desperate hopes and needs of a pleading child. But that look had come and gone as quickly as the flash of gold under obsidian waters.

Hiiro's expression was again blank, Minako's again solemn, Usagi's again nonchalant.

And it stayed that way for the rest of lunch.

…………………

Hiiro looked as if right on the edge of knocking when Minako opened the door, Usagi peeking out from behind her. The taller blonde raised an eyebrow almost as if silently challenging.

He looked down and aside, eyes darting to the doors in the hallway, as if pondering escape, and then back to Minako's face. "If…If I may speak with Miss Usagi for a moment?"

Minako looked as if she were sizing him up. Usagi looked lost in space. "Well, knowing your ability to take into consideration others' feelings…"

"Five minutes. Max."

She hesitated, briefly glanced back at Usagi who offered no assistance, and then nodded shortly. "Five minutes."

…………………

She was staring out the window again, eyes blank, lips pursed, absolutely silent. He sighed loudly, ran a hand through his hair, and licked his lips. The seconds were ticking by.

"Miss Usagi … We understand if this is too much for you. We're not forcing you into anything," he paused and thought hard, trying to draw an essence of Quatre out from within himself. 

Nothing. 

"If you wish to abandon this cause … there's nobody stopping you and … you're free to leave whenever you want." He searched his mind for anything he had left out. "After signing an oath of silence, of c-"

"Does the sight of me and Minako pain you?"

Her voice was quiet but he started nevertheless. 

She turned back to face him, tearing her eyes from the window, and stared at him forlornly. Then, she lowered her eyes and smiled at her hands in her lap. Noiselessly, she reached under the mattress and pulled out a nondescript, white envelope. 

His breath caught at his throat as she opened it slowly. 

"At first I thought they were mine. I keep my portfolio with me and have done projects on her but … then I realized…"

"Shut up." His tone was frighteningly quiet. He was glaring vehemently at that open white envelope. 

Usagi bit her lip. "Tell me about it. Tell Minako, tell Pagan – I don't care. Tell _somebody_. We all want to help you. We all want to-"

"Every man for himself." The words were droned, his hands immobile. 

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, a small frown playing on her face. "Every man for himself? Hiiro, there are six billion other people on the Earth and two billion in the colonies – why must every man work only for himself?" She paused and took a deep breath. "Do you … do you notice … that Minako is trying … so … _so hard_ to hate you? Because she understands how you feel at the moment and because she doesn't want to complicate things? But she can't. Because … because love is like that."

He was silent.

"And…do you notice when Duo stares at you when he thinks nobody is looking with that pained and worried look on his face? He looks as if he wants to _cry_. Is that what you're here for, Hiiro Yui? To make people cry? To make people worry? Please…please tell som-"

"_SHUT UP!_" 

She jerked back as his hand flew at her, swiping the envelope from her loose grip, littering small squares of paper all over the room.

And as she stared up at him, eyes wide, breathing quick, and as he stared down at her, eyes wide, breathing quick, multicolored pictures of Relena drifted to the floor around them in a flurry of color, a flurry of love, a flurry of sorrow. And the room echoed Relena's laughter as she grins at Hiiro in one shot, as she pokes him in another – as she dances, as she sings, as she hugs, and as she kisses.

"Get out."

Usagi was trembling under the barrage of precious moments. 

"_GET OUT!_"

…………………

"Usagi? You all right?" Minako stared at her curiously after jumping in surprise when she burst into the kitchen and pressed her back to the refrigerator, panting. 

"Where…where is this?" she asked breathlessly, glancing around wildly. 

Minako frowned. Maybe she was coming down with a fever. "The…kitchen…"

"The kitchen," she breathed to herself and almost laughed. Her childhood sanctuary. 

"What did you and he talk about?"

Usagi sighed and stood up, breathing returning to normal, and flashed a minimal and strained smile. "Nothing important." 

Minako rolled her eyes. "And that's why you look as if you're running from Hell's houn-"

"Minako, there's something burning!" 

Only then did she completely take in the kitchen, eyes panning the counters and the stove as Minako rushed to turn it off. 

It looked like a landfill.

"Minako…"

"Yes?" She was busy studying the burnt something-or-other.

"Did you try to cook?"

"Yes."

"And is it my obligation to help you now?"

A pause.

"Yes."

"Oh, Lord."

…………………

"Don't give me that look, Hiiro." Minako narrowed her eyes and glared. "If you had told us _earlier_ that we had to leave tonight for some all important L2 meeting to avoid war, this would not have happened."

"You would not have cooked dinner."

She glared defensively. "Usagi _did_ try to salvage it."

He turned away and rubbed his face tiredly. "Right. You cooked dinner, Usagi tried to salvage it, and we ate out."

"It sounds so bad when you put it that way," Usagi laughed. Minako looked up and grinned at her. Usagi was back to normal. Thank goodness. 

After all, once one has braved the fury of Pagan, the chef, and a hoard of maids after their combined effort in destroying the kitchen, one can handle a galactic war. No problem. 

That might be stretching it a bit.

Usagi looked askance at Hiiro and sighed. Not a word of what had happened behind paper-thin walls. She didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated.

Minako had been grinning for the last twenty minutes, ever since packing and getting on the shuttle. Usagi smiled to herself. She hadn't realized how much Minako had been affected by her sorrow. Staring up at the ceiling, she bit her lip and crossed her heart that, for Minako's sake, she would be happy and continue to hide whatever heartbreak she had inside.

…………………

"Are you ready for this?" he asked. The inside of the shuttle was quiet. Usagi was sleeping, leaning against the window, a small frown playing on her face as she muttered in her sleep.

Minako glanced up and shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be." She paused and frowned. "Of course it helps that there isn't another president to kill." 

"That is an unsettling problem," he muttered quietly, staring stonily ahead. Usagi's words were not easy to forget. Minako … was Minako really in love with him? That had to be impossible. He was not Duo, the self proclaimed "player" in their group. He did not act like Duo. In fact, he tried to be the exact opposite of Duo. And yet…

He tried to hold her gaze. She looked away.

"A problem? I won't go through the same thing Usagi did."

There was a seed of Relena in her, in her courage and audacity, and in her appearance and optimism but…

She wasn't Relena. Only Relena was Relena. And no matter what Usagi says…

"_Is that what you're here for, Hiiro Yui? To make people _cry_?"_

"Do you…" he paused to cough, uncomfortably, "Do you … like baklava?" [2]

Minako started and eyed him weirdly. 

But before she could speak, he quickly scowled and mumbled a, "Never mind. Unimportant."

He didn't speak for a long time and when he did, she thought for a moment that he had changed the subject again.

"The other four are all coming. Quatre, Wufei, Trowa, Duo. We need high security this time. It's going to be long. It will span all of the two days. We plan on having you do the first, rest, and then have Usagi do the second."

"So it's good that she's better now."

"Yes. But … with the President gone, the next most important person would be…"

Realization dawned upon her. "Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian."

…………………

Is it a surprise? I don't know. I'm so out of touch with my stories … --;; By "it" I was referring to Usagi's acknowledgment of Minako's love for Hiiro. xD;; But this chapter was overly Usagi-centered and therefore, partly because next chapter is Minako's entrance into the war fiasco, chapter 13 would be overly Minako-centered. _There is no bias yet_. Lol. So I hope. xD;; But thank you for reading~ Yours, Angel.

**Notes:**

1. Synesthesia – I don't know if I spelt this word right. MS Word refuses to admit that it's English. --; But it is an "illness" [I think it's more of a gift] in which two or more of a person's senses overlap – taste sound, hear colors, feel smells, etc. The prime example is … Koening? Was it Koening? Well. Some abstract artist whose name starts with a K. Michiru was, in short, amazing. :D

2. The whole baklava thing – [a Greek dessert, by the way] It was a subtle way of showing that Hiiro is considering Minako. He knows that Relena liked baklava [made up and random] and thus he asks Minako to gauge her similarity factor to Relena. xD;; Twisted thinking on Hiiro's part – he's obsessed with Relena – but it works. :D 

**Water Angel 1:** Lol … I think I exaggerated it. --; How disappointing … ; I dunno. Usagi was just overly sensitive. xD 

**Silly Smiles:** Lol thank you. xD I love it that Usagi has problems too … :3 

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell**: …you have not started yet have you? Lol. ::sigh:: And I probably won't see it until next well, will I? ;-;

**AznxAngel****:** No preference. Lol. xD; It's too hard to focus on both of them equally in one chapter because then they'd be super long chapters xD … so they'll switch off. xD;; Next chapter will be primarily Minako and more likely than now, so will the one after that. xD

**Gackt**** Camui:** Lol … I have an unhealthy obsession with making everybody deranged and strange … which means … Hiiro and Usagi aren't the only ones. xD;; And angst is loverly xD By the way … you haven't updated in a long time … will it be soon? xD 

**Black Aura-Sama:** Thank you. :D I think it's a relief that Usagi isn't perfect. --; I wonder if Michiru will ever show up in person … hrmmmmmmm …. Heh heh xD

**Usagi Shiratori:** Thank you! xD But it's not certain that it's U/H yet … xDxD 

**Xixi****:** They killed Mamoru off in the Sailor Moon Live Action?! O.O;; What strange people. xD Thank you. :D

**Nanashi****:** O.O;; Wow … I can't hope to even suggest that I understand you … but I hope as the story progresses and Usagi understands herself better, you will perhaps gain insight. But that might be a bit ambitious of me. ^^; If there's anything I can do, please tell me. ^^

**Ashika****:** Nooo!!! I don't hate you!!! Lol. And angst is good. xDxD

**Dark Universe:** Thank you. xD;; I was half-afraid people would be scared off with psychotic!Usagi. xD

**Tenshi-Kaiko****:** Lol … I'm not a major theater person … so I really have no idea what that play is/is about. xD;; But good luck on it! :D

**Lizzy**** Black:** Lol … I really think I went too far. --; Even I was getting vaguely annoyed at her as she dragged things on in this chapter. xD;; But for the drama … lol. 

**Goblinprincess13.4:** Here's the update! :D

Sorry the replies were so brief … I'm not that energetic right now. ^^; But thank you to every one of you. :D Happy Easter, everybody! :D

Tangent: Has anybody seen Meteor Garden? Lol … yes, I know I live under a rock … seeing it so late … but still! O.O;; It's so addictive. It's like gradually committing suicide. xD


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

**Warnings: **Sap. Fluff. Angst. Love.

**Chapter 13**

The bars were intolerably cold, grasped tightly by her numb fingers. The simple sundress fluttered in the breath of a breeze around her as she kicked her bare feet, hanging below her, daringly. 

The moon was already out, the stars vaguely perceptible; it was still winter and night still came early. Minako shivered, the dress of simplest cotton and boldest patterns rising and falling with the wind, her hair following, clothing her in a splendor of gold. 

She didn't understand herself. She didn't understand why at seven in the evening, when any sane person would be inside, eating dinner with friends or family, she was sitting out on the rail of the hotel balcony, her legs dangling in thin air, above a breathless four-story drop to unforgiving concrete. She didn't understand why she was six inches from death, breathing quick and short, heart fluttering, and still enjoying it. 

Minako allowed herself a quiet, private laugh and swung her legs some more as if challenging fate. 

Ever since she turned ten, she had had the strangest way of looking at life. To be subtle and tactful, one would call her an enthusiast. To be blunt and harsh, one would call her a debaucher. She had always tended to favor the former for obvious reasons.

It was as if she lived for the adrenaline rush, the feel of oxygen rushing in and out of her lungs at an unhealthy speed, the passing moment when it seems as if her heart was about to burst with fear and pleasure. 

She had never wanted to grow up. Childhood was the golden time of life, after all. Marriage? Who had time for marriage when there was so much out there to enjoy? Family? Children? They were simply links to a gilded chain that had imprisoned many before her.

She wanted to be rid of all restrictions, have every moment be hanging by the slightest thread. So it felt as if … the instant she grew up, life would be over. To her, even at age ten, thirty was the limit. Beyond thirty years of age was death. 

Minako sighed and stared up at the sky, edging a little bit closer to the edge; the thin metal bar supporting her had never felt so fragile, so thin and solitary. 

Of course she thought herself odd. She knew she was different and unusual in unlikable ways. But she had never found a solution. She read gargantuan philosophical works – _A Man for All Seasons, The Republic, The Prince_ – but nothing. Nothing could curb her wild desire for risk. [1]

And though she cried over _A Man for All Seasons_ and though she cried over _A Tale of Two Cities_ and though she cried for every religious tale of suffering…!

But now … but now…

She leaned back and just breathed, enjoying the loud thumping of her heart, enjoying the searing tears under her icy eyelids. 

But now…

Life was no longer half over at fifteen. She was not in her early twenties and over the hill. Time was no longer slipping out of her hands to oblivion like liquid gold. 

Because now…

There was enchantment and exhilaration without the fear of death. There was Hiiro and Usagi and Relena. And there were stars and moonlight and God. 

Because now…

She had tasted the rich wine of love. And for just tonight … when she can taste the moon and hear the stars, she'll exult in the feeling and forget the mask of hate. And for just tonight, when the wind sings and air whispers, she will allow herself to feel as Juliet did the night her palms met Romeo's. [2]

…………………

Usagi had no reason to lie. But, by the same token, he had no obligation to love.

That thought had run in circles in his head for the last two hours, ever since arriving in L2, registering in some middle class hotel, for sake of privacy, and unpacking. 

The three of them were in adjacent rooms and had randomly picked keys. Minako was in the middle, between Usagi and him, and in the unpolluted night of the colony, her form and dress were startlingly lucid. 

He stood silently, secretively, watching her, wondering if perhaps he should tell her to get off the balcony rail, to stop daring herself to let go.

But for the moment, he was silent. 

Usagi had no reason to lie. But, by the same token…

Hiiro shook his head violently. 

Minako loved him.

It seemed like a beautiful letdown. [3]

Relena loved him.

He had always dreamed of the day when he could admit those three words as truth. But Minako … It was such an unfamiliar name – an unfamiliar person, an unfamiliar reality. It was perjury and betrayal and hate … and yet it was beautiful.

…………………

"Hiiro?" she called, voice vaguely uneasy and timid as she stepped into the dark room. The sliding door to the balcony was open and the curtains were fluttering. "Hiiro?" she called again, a bit more insistently, as she reached the door and stared at him. He turned unperturbedly and raised an eyebrow. 

"Are we going to be eating soon?" Usagi smiled. "I doubt I can survive the night without dinner."

He turned around silently and gazed back out.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" She was about to jab him on the shoulder angrily but then his quiet, deliberate voice registered. 

"I'm going to have nightmares tonight."

She frowned to herself and in a softer tone asked, "About what?"

There was a pause, a startlingly perfect moment of silence. "About your words."

Usagi started and bit her lip uneasily as she studied his back. Minako … was telling him about Minako a bad decision? Shaking her head resolutely, she grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around. 

"Look, _Mister_ Hiiro, if you don't go get dinner right now, I'm going to _make sure_ you have nightmares tonight."

  
He blinked blankly at her, vaguely startled and then let his tense shoulders fall. 

"Now go!" She eyed him expectedly and pushed him toward the door of the room. 

Usagi sighed softly after the door closed. It was forced humor but it was humor. And at the moment, there was nothing they needed more than humor. 

Collecting herself, she stepped out onto the balcony curiously and gasped. "Minako! Get off right now!" 

The blonde started and turned to her before breaking into a cheerful smile. "Usagi!" she called back and waved from her adjacent balcony.

Her eyes were wide and her breathing shallow. "M-Minako! That's dangerous! Please, get off."

"Don't take it the wrong way, Usagi," she continued to smile, "I would never be the suicidal type. This is just … fun."

Usagi felt close to tears and vaguely nauseous as Minako leaned her had back and stretched, only supported by one thin bar. "Minako, please … for my sake. Call it my whim. _Please_ get off and come inside."

The blonde blinked but her face slowly relaxed into a smile and she nodded, scooting back on the bar and trying to get off.

Minako was almost back to safety, and Usagi closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. But when she opened them again…

Minako was dangling precariously from the bar, her arms twisted to keep her from falling to certain death. And then, eyes wide, she met Usagi's horrified face, saw Usagi's screaming "Minako" as if in slow motion.

And then she fell.

…………………

"Minako!" She was biting her lip and drawing blood. "Minako!" She closed her eyes tightly and prayed for a miracle. Five seconds passed. There was no scream. There was no thud. She listened but there was no sound.

Whirling around, Usagi sprinted out of the room and ran for the stairs.

…………………

For all of her life, she had wanted every moment to be hanging by the slightest thread, a thread as thin as angel hair. But this once … the thread had snapped.

_No!_ she wanted to scream. _I'm not done yet!_

There was so much she still didn't understand! Love! And faith! And Aristotle!

But then…

There was no longer the whirling sensation of falling. She opened her eyes cautiously and hardly dared to move. Someone was holding her. Someone had caught her. 

And in the dim starlight, she was just like a princess, an angel in her dress of flowers, with her golden hair hanging, tightly clinging to life, to her prince. She hardly dared to breathe, hardly dared to laugh. 

"Hiiro?"

He was panting and his lips were pursed. His eyes, like cold, harsh, but gorgeous sapphires glared at her. Licking his lips slowly he swallowed and looked up at the sky, trying to control his breathing.

"Stupid," he uttered quietly and let her go, supporting her briefly just to be certain she was able to stand. 

Minako lowered her eyes in silent apology. There was a protracted silence as his loud gasps for air faded to nothing and she collected her thoughts. 

"I'm going out to get dinner. I'll be back in half an hour," he finally said and turned to leave, the unbuttoned white dress shirt over the stark back t-shirt fluttering as he walked away. She stared after him.

"Hiiro!"

He stopped and turned slightly. The extreme flutter of the shirt settled down a bit, stirring only slightly at the beck and call of the evening breeze. 

"Hiiro … I … I love you. I love you so much that it's weighing on my chest and making it hard to breathe."

She waited, head bowed, hair covering her face, breathless for his response. Silence passed, the breeze still making her hair whisper around her. When she looked up again, he was still there, still not turned around to face her. 

Finally, he shifted and let his shoulders fall. With one, unsmiling glance back at her, he shook his head and said, quietly, "Stupid."

She stared at his retreating form, her breath still rapid, her heart still thumping. She vaguely heard footsteps behind her. 

"Minako."

She turned and smiled faintly. "Usagi. You heard everything?" 

Her hands were on her knees and she was gasping for breath, but she smiled nevertheless. "Never give up, Minako."

She was silent for a moment, staring off into space as Usagi's breathing returned to normal. Finally, she laughed softly to herself and flashed a grin at Usagi. "No, I don't plan on giving up. And you know why?" She took a deep breath. "Because that moment, I could feel Hiiro's heart beating so quickly against my side. He was truly scared for me. And for that … that slight hint of concern … I will give everything I have ever known to be true."

…………………

He slowed his brisk pace to a relaxed stroll after walking for five minutes and then stopped altogether, hands in his jeans' pockets, white shirt still quivering in the breeze, head bowed in contemplation. 

Usagi had been right. Minako was in love with him. 

He thinned his lips and frowned to himself. Why do the most momentous things in life always come as a surprise? 

He had uttered the word "stupid" twice that evening. The first was for Minako the second … he wondered if it was for himself.

Because Relena…Relena who was currently helpless. He could never forsake her. 

He wanted to promise himself that he'll only love Relena. But what were the chances of Relena living? What were the chances of the Relena now becoming once again the Relena he had known two years ago? 

Hiiro shook his head fiercely, trying to rid himself of his faithless thoughts. 

He wanted to promise that he'll always protect Relena and Minako and Usagi. He wanted to promise that he'll always protect Quatre and Duo and Trowa and Wufei.

"I would promise to protect the whole world if I could," he whispered into the silent night air. The wind replied, murmuring comfort into his ears. But for the moment he was deaf. 

And for the moment, the only thing on his mind was two years ago when he had told a laughing Relena with as much seriousness as he could muster that, no matter what, Hiiro Yui crossed his heart to always protect Relena Darlian. 

And at that moment, she had smiled that deliriously beautiful smile at him and caught his heart in her hands.

…………………

Sort of a deviation from the main plot … --; Is it sappy or is it sappy? xD; Uncharacteristically, I thought it was sweet. :D [I'm usually allergic to romance ^^;] I think it's because I'm still high on Meteor Garden. xDxD;; That must be it. Urk … so! I haven't written romance in a long time. Wow. What a rush. …that was sarcasm. ^^; My typical trying to incorporate the title in the story. ^^; I dunno. Call it an obsession. xD I think it adds something to the story. O.o;; But … erm … yes … if you have the time at all, please skim my profile and give me your opinion on my "soul vacation" [LOL. Okay, not the right term but it was the sappiest thing I could think of right now. ^^;] Thank you for your time~ Yours, Angel.

**Notes:**

1. _A Man for All Seasons, The Republic, The Prince_: Ok. So I called them all "gargantuan philosophical works." Firstly … they're not all gargantuan. xD;; Secondly, A Man for All Seasons is a play and is much closer to fiction than it is to philosophy. But it's the dramatized version of Sir Thomas More's story and how he died because of his belief against King Henry VIII's decision to become head of the church of England and thus divorce Catherine and marry Anne. Yes. The ending's sad. ;-; And I was moved. So I mentioned it. ^^;

2. "As Juliet did the night her palms met Romeo's": If you would recall the first night that they met at the party. ^^; 

3. "It seemed like a beautiful letdown": "The Beautiful Letdown" is a Dashboard Confessional song that I have never listened to in my life. ^^; I just thought it sounded good. xD;

**KutieBunnie****:** Thank you! ^^; I am definitely considering changing it to angst/romance but … I'm lazy and don't want to until I absolutely have to. ^^;

**Aphrodite's Scribe:** Lol … Minako/Hiiro galore for you. ^^;

**AznxAngel****:** Yay! You understand me and my strange whims! ^^; I was worried that nobody would quite understand it and that I was being strange and hallucinating. ;-; Lol.

**Water Angel1**: Thank you! :D

**Jewels14:** ^^; That's the problem with trying to maintain an equilibrium and not digressing from the main plot too much. xD; There will be blocks of chapters that are Usagi-oriented and blocks that are Minako-oriented simply because I am unwilling to sit down and write out twenty-page chapters just to have both U/H and M/H both in a chapter. ^^; Thank you. :D

**Usagi ****Asia**** Maxwell:** You've started! O.o;; Butbut…what are the chances of your finishing. ;-; Lol. No pressure. :D You don't have to write it if it gives you much grief. xD;; Thank you nevertheless though. :D

**Confusedsoul**: O.O;; You mean the past works that I want to burn? Lol. Thank you so much! I'm so flattered. :D 

**Ashika****:** If _everybody_ love everybody else, life would be much easier. ^^; Then I won't have to worry about offending people because of who I've chosen to end with … and yes, "chosen." ^.~ ::cough:: Urm. We studied WW II a while ago actually. The Russia vs. Germany bit was just exceedingly clear in my mind because we had a project on it. ;

**Queen luvBunny:** Lol … no chaos yet. ^^; I'm sure there will be next chapter. ; Thank you~

**Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy****:** Lol … have-st we another Hiiro/Minako lover here? xD;; Don't worry about not reviewing though and thank you. :D

**Black Aura-Sama:** I doubt Minako will die. xD;; And I say that with … 50% certainty. xDxD Yes … so …. Mmm … obsessed doesn't quite seem like the right word to describe Hiiro … xD;; When I think "obsessed", I think stalking and lust. --; I want to portray what Hiiro feels to be pure and genuine love, so powerful and deep that it hurts. Yes. Urm. Yes. xDxD;; Hiiro angst is good. xD;

**Xixi****:** They say that a person can admire somebody and still hate that person's guts … well it's not true in Hiiro's case. xD;; I guess I mean to express that through Hiiro's admiration of Relena, through his constant interaction with her, and through his long-term observation of her, he has come to love her. I hope to clarify that more in later chapters. :D Thank you for the comment though. xD

**Tenshi-Kaikou****:** Lol … I miss Easter. xD;; Good Friday was our school district's last holiday before summer. =.= I wonder if I can make it … x.x; Have fun with the play. :D

…Meteor Garden … I hatest thou and yet I lovest thou. --; Thank you again, everybody! 3


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Me no.

**Chapter 14**

"I love Relena more than anything. I love Relena more than anything. I love R-" He jumped as a female voice joined his and whirled around to see Usagi leaning against the doorframe of his hotel room, smiling half sadly, half smugly.

She stood up and walked to him, arms crossed still. "Okay, so we've established that you love Relena more than anything. What's next, Hiiro?"

He stared at her as if not comprehending. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to realize that the more often you say 'I love Relena more than anything', the more uncertain your voice becomes."

He glared and spat out the first phrase that came to his mind. "I love Relena more than anything."

Usagi sighed defeatedly. "Yes, I know." She paused to glance out the window at a lavender-gray sky. "Do you then, Hiiro, find it perfidious that Minako even thinks to replace her?"

His blue-gray eyes narrowed. "Why should I tell you?"

Usagi shrugged sarcastically. "Perhaps because I care about Minako? Perhaps because I respect Miss Relena? Perhaps because, as incredible as it is, I care about you?"

Hiiro scowled. "Perhaps you should care about yourself a bit more and mind your own business." He looked away from her blank expression and quickly muttered a short, "Sorry."

"Apology accepted. But would Minako say the same when you apologize to her for leading her on? Loving Relena as much as you do, how is it even possible to consider Minako?"

He looked faintly uncomfortable and his eyes skittered briefly to the open door behind her. "I'm not leading her on. I do love Relena. But Relena … has changed…"

Usagi frowned. "Everything changes, Hiiro. Would you stop loving the Earth simply because autumn changed into winter?"

He glared at her. "That is a very tenuous assertion, _Miss Usagi_. Relena hasn't just changed from autumn to winter … Relena has changed from white to black."

"Oh? So then you can tell me that you no longer love her? You can tell me that at the same time, you harbor no feelings for Minako?"

He took a deep breath and turned away from her. "I still love Relena. So much that it hurts to wake knowing where she is, how she's doing. But Minako…" he turned around to face her again, "I don't feel anything towards her. I'm just searching for the right words to say to her."

She suppressed a smile. He watched her uneasily, as prey would watch a potential predator. "So, Hiiro, what do you plan to do about the situation then?"

He closed his eyes briefly. "I'll think of something."

Usagi shot him a small smirk. "Let's hope your plan is better than your lying." The door closed gently behind her before he could utter a single word.

…………………

"Stand up straight!" she demanded. Minako took a deep breath. She had never seen Usagi in this demanding, manipulative, over-anxious mother mood. It was like a nightmare. Except worse.

Breathing slowly, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and bit her lower lip worriedly, glancing briefly at Hiiro who had distanced himself from the "Relena"-prepping session and was staring bleakly at a blank wall. No doubt calculating his next move. Minako felt a wave of relief that Hiiro was on their side in the war … in anything, for that matter.

"I feel like passing out," she muttered. Usagi looked faintly startled.

"And I thought models always exuded confidence."

Minako sighed and shot her a tired look, leaning against the wall. Behind that wall was the conference room. Behind that wall, the air was thick, confining, humid with tension and fear and mistrust. Behind that wall, she was no longer Minako, innocent bystander, but Relena Darlian, the world's most adept diplomat and the ESUN's beacon of peace.

Relena could be the world's savior. She could be the healing angel, the resurrection. If they would only let her.

And Minako would be forever lost to obscurity.

But that was life. Or at least her life.

She looked up and saw Usagi eyeing her concernedly. "Minako … don't worry. Just pretend everybody in there is an absolute fan of yours that admire you beyond words."

"That wouldn't be far from the truth. For Relena, that is."

Minako's face fell at Hiiro's addendum. Usagi shot him a scathing look. He glanced away.

"Why aren't Wufei and the others here yet?" Usagi asked quietly as Minako collected herself.

Hiiro glanced at her briefly. "Mechanical difficulties. They should arrive by this evening."

Usagi nodded mutedly. "I see."

Minako grabbed Usagi's hands and shot her a desperate look. "I can't act like that. I can't do this. I-"

Hiiro stood up and glanced at his watch. "It's time."

Usagi squeezed her hand briefly and smiled. "Try your best. And stay on guard." With that, the door opened and Relena Darlian stepped in. Minako Aino was left outside to mourn.

…………………

She had expected to be greeted with smiles or nods of acknowledgment like she had the night of Miss Relena's return to the political arena. Instead, she was met with blank stares and uneasy glances as if the people in the room didn't dare to look at her for too long for fear of scarring.

There had been quiet chatter before she had entered but the instant she stepped in, it was as if the tape had broken, as if the CD had cracked. There was horrifying, mind-numbing silence. She swallowed and fixed a steady gaze on Colonel Une. The imposing woman stared back, her glasses glinting in the cold light of the conference room.

Finally, a man she identified as the ESUN Chief of Staff cleared his throat. The taut thread up until then seemed to snap at that moment. He stood up and reached over the long table to shake her hand. She smiled restrainedly.

The handshake wasn't even tepid; it was outright freezing, as if nothing more than a mere, accidental brushing of icy fingertips.

"Miss Relena. It's a pleasure to have you here with us today," he offered boomingly. Nobody seemed to agree, not even him. "If you would please take a seat?"

She sat. "Please continue whatever discussion you were having before my arrival." She offered a brief smile. Nobody met her eyes.

Lady Une cleared her throat and stood up again. "Now that Miss Relena is here, we will commence this summit that will span today and tomorrow. This is a very critical meeting, ladies and gentlemen, and I expect all of you to behave with the utmost civility and gravity." She looked faintly surprised at Minako's raised hand and hesitantly nodded to her.

She stood up, steadying herself by leaning against the table covertly. "Ladies and gentlemen … about the last meeting I attended in Dallas…"

That struck a nerve. That struck several thousand nerves. A number of people jumped, one woman stared at her and looked away, crying, the rest bowed their heads in sorrow.

"I understand that right now I seem like the most suspicious thing alive. Miss Mizuno killed Mr. President and Mr. Yui killed Miss Mizuno in order to defend me. But I understand that it seems equally likely that I had killed Mr. President due to conspiracy and then Miss Mizuno due to secrecy. But I assure you … if you know anything about me, about Relena Darlian, you will have no doubt in your minds that I would not and will never attempt to kill anybody."

Utter silence. For a moment, Minako wondered if she had gone deaf. But her heart pounded like thunder in her ears. And the silence seemed to be too substantial to be deafness. She wanted to step out of the room. To breathe again. To see Hiiro again. To see Usagi smile at her again.

How many rooms just like this one had Miss Relena tolerated? How many people had she met smiled beguilingly at her but in their minds were drowning her in acid, slicing her wrists, wringing her neck? She felt a stab of pity and grief for Relena. Her life was not glamorous like the news portrayed it. Her life was a masquerade where every person behind every mask had ulterior motives and would stop at nothing to extinguish Earth's beacon of peace.

And in that lifelong masquerade of maliciously glittering pearls and diamonds, of gorgeous people hiding equally gorgeous lies, Relena Darlian had found Hiiro.

And in Hiiro's life, Relena had been that glittering pearl, that iridescent diamond, that damsel in distress under sheets of iron and steel.

They were perfect. They were quintessential. They made her heart break.

Minako excused herself quickly before the searing tears could fall.

…………………

Hiiro watched unsmilingly as Minako closed the door quietly behind her, wiping her eyes quickly, and Usagi jumped up and hugged her. He watched as Minako allowed herself to cry for five seconds before gulping her tears away and blinking her eyes dry. He watched as Usagi reapplied her makeup and made Minako laugh before pushing her back into the room jocularly.

They were amazing. As amazing as Relena. Only in different ways.

Hiiro had been trying to place that feeling he had felt the night before for almost the whole morning. He sighed to himself and looked askance at Usagi. She sat in the bench outside of the conference room, her head propped up by her arm, breathing gently, quietly. Peacefully.

He was sure that under that peace, there was war and turmoil and angst. It was as if she was with Minako in spirit, experiencing that suffocating room in essence.

The night before, when he had returned from his grocery shopping, bringing back cheap Chinese food and watered down soda because those were the only things he could find quickly in this foreign colony, Minako and Usagi had been waiting for him, each on her own balcony, amazing and absolute, basked in the light of the room behind them. And they had stood there. And smiled at him, calling his name like beauteous angels, waving at him as if seeing him back safely made that evening a joyful blessing.

At that moment, he had wanted nothing more than to cry. And laugh. And wave back as if he were equally naïve, equally joyful.

But he had simply stood there, staring up at them, numb with awe, hot tears pricking the corners of his eyes before being cooled and frozen by the ice of his intellect.

Was it relief?

Relief had never made him want to cry.

It was … a sense of belonging. It was like the first time Relena had touched his hand and brought it to her forehead.

It was love.

…………………

Oh my goodness. Save me. I'm turning into a sap. ;-; Noooooooooooooo. ::sigh:: But umm…angst again. xD; I'm worried that it's getting old. Lol. Is it? O.o; I look at it and realize that I keep returning to five or six key words … xD; It's horrible. It's stagnation. xD; But well. I didn't want to write dialogue. I'll be leaving on Monday to a place where I'll [unless I'm super lucky] have no access to a computer. And I hate writing things out by hand. They hinder something … I dunno. And it's slow and tiring. xD; Obsolete. --; But … yes. Lol. So at least I fulfilled this promise, ne? :D That I'd update CMH before I leave. :3 It's short but it works. :D Again, not adding much to the plot. xD; Hopefully something will happen in the next two chapters. And then something very … drastic will happen around chapter 18. Yes, that's my dropping hints. :3 Thanks bunches for reading! Yours, Angel.

**UsagiAsiaMaxwell****:** Lol the characters … it seems the more I write about Hiiro's love for Relena, the more I love Relena. xD; This must be a disease. --; But yes … lol I think I have an ideal picture of her in my head … like my idealistic picture of Usagi … instead of what they actually were. Or maybe not. O.o; I'm babbling. Excuse my growing senility. xD; But don't force yourself to do the parody if it pains you. Lol. :3 I can live without it. If only barely. xD;

**Jewels14:** Yes. Sap. The food of life. :3 But … lol. I don't think I would ever kill off a character in such an "uncool" way. xD; It defies the rules of conduct around here. xD;

**KutieBunnie****:** Lol. Usagi isn't in love yet. But … heh heh. :3 I haven't decided whether it'll be soon or much later on. O.o; But it'll come out with a bang no matter what. :D And that "letter" [I tried to hint at this without saying it outright xD] was actually an envelope of Relena's pictures from newspapers/magazines/personal albums that Hiiro kept. Awww. ::sniffle:: Lol.

**Black Aura-Sama:** Lol. Like I said … falling off the balcony = very uncool way to die = not happening in any non-parody I do. xD; And obsessed!Hiiro seemed more like confused!Hiiro now. --; Or maybe whiney!Hiiro. Lol. Please tell me if any of these people ever get annoying. xD; It'll save me a lot of grief in the long run. :3 Quatre and co will probably appear next chapter. :3 Unless I have a breakthrough and add a whole new element to the plot … which has happened before. :D

**LiLSeReNiTiE****:** Lol … no, not M/H yet. Actually [**_hinthint_****__**] it'll stay U/H/M for the entire fic. Or most of it at least. But the bit that is not U/H/M … isn't necessarily the end. ::ahem:: I wonder if I just gave away a lot. Lol. If I'm not overestimating you guys, then I just did. xD; But just to throw that out there … :3

**Ashika****:** More strangeness! :D Anytime I write sap is strange.

**Queen luvBunny**: I haven't picked yet. :3 I have the plot written out … but I haven't picked yet. ::ahem:: Lol. That was a hint. --; So uhh … lol. Sappiness. It's still present. xD;

**Confusedsoul**: Thank you! O.O;;; ::is speechless:: Lol. Yes … poor Hiiro … ::pets:: xD; But this suffering of his … is fun to write about. xD; ::ahem:: Yes … poor Hiiro. xD;

**Tenshi-Chikyuu****:** Thankyouthankyou! Lol … I was feeling so awkward in the beginning of the last chapter … but I'm extremely happy that it moved you … though I can't even begin to imagine how. xD; Methinks it's more your ability to be moved than my ability to write. xD; As for the error in that chapter … I've known about it for awhile [after somebody pointed it out xD] but … I'm extraordinarily lazy. Lol. So it'd be a miracle if I corrected it before the year is over. xD;

**Aphrodite's Scribe:** Yay! I'm so happy an M/H supporter doesn't hate Usagi. :3 ::bows to your greatness:: Lol. Please don't ever change. Lol. xD;

**Queen Zephora Yami: :**3 Thank you! Here's more! :DDD

**Tenshi-Kaikou****:** ;-; No pro-d days … since … since a long time ago. Feels like an eternity. xD; Good luck with your play! Though I'm probably too late again. xD; And remember … Usagi was also inexperienced, young, and small [SHORT! lol] when she became Sailor Moon. xD; And now look at her. O.o; All grown up and … impersonating Relena Darlian! xD;

**AznxAngel****:** Lol … I was just trying to capture the "enthusiast" state of mind. xD; But if it seems profound … then by all means, yes. Lol. xD; Yes. Sappiness. More Minako-ness this chapter. :3

**Archangel****006**: Updated! :3


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Ta…………………………………………dah! :3

An Ashika chapter, as they will all be from now on. O.o; Bye bye CMH … and good riddance. xD; Harhar. This is the one and last note to you guys in CMH. :3 Have fun with Ashika…! And and and … yeah. Go read. xD;

Chapter 15

"Ahh, the lovely Miss Minako and Usagi … I wonder if they've changed at all!" Duo paused to frown. "I hope they're not in love with Hiiro already – I don't think even Hiiro works that fast." He straightened, face determined, hitting the palm of his hand with his fist. "I _must_ learn his secret … but just in case, I canceled all my dates for this week and-"

"_Shut up!_"

Duo jumped at Wufei's roar. So did half of the passengers on the commercial shuttle to L2.

"_How long does it take for you to comprehend?_! _Yui_ is God's gift to women, not _you_, _Yui!_"

The braided American paused a moment to take Wufei's words in, blinking before shooting him a look of reproach and hurt. "Well … if you feel that way..."

"I do."

"I do, too," Trowa chimed in from the row behind them.

Duo looked as if he had just been told that all the women he had ever dated were, in fact, men. "B-but…"

"Any woman that sees Yui would never be able to get him out of her mind."

"B-but…" He looked close to tears. "Hilde never fell for Hiiro." Duo turned to Wufei, eyes watering with hope, begging for assurance.

The Asian Preventer shot him a smug look. "If she did, _you'd_ be the last to know."

Duo's eyes widened to the size of cantaloupes, and he took a few gulps of air, relaxing his Vulcan Death Grip on the arms of the seat. A moment passed as he fought to control his panic over the possibility of the denouncement of everything he'd ever known to be true.

The calm snapped.

Duo stood up in a rush, opened the overhead compartment, jerked out several sheets of crumpled paper and a pen, before sitting back down and scribbling away. "I need to write to Hilde! I won't be able to sleep until I do!"

And he was silent.

Ah, blissful silence.

Quatre sighed and poked Wufei on the shoulder. "You shouldn't do that to him. His heart can't take it."

The dark-haired man turned to glance at him over his shoulder and smiled. "But don't you enjoy the silence?"

"Yes, but what you just did is …is… – it's cruel; I can't bear to watch."

Wufei shot a frantically writing Duo a doubtful look and dismissed the thought with a shake of his head. "_Don't_ watch then. Just listen."

The blonde frowned. "There's nothing to listen to."

Wufei shot a starry-eyed expression upwards. "Exactly."

…………………

Minako sighed as she slid her hand through her honey-blonde hair. One look in the mirror told her she needed a dye job soon. Her roots were showing.

She used to like watching romantic comedies. She didn't used to read anything beyond the chicest magazines – which couldn't even really be called reading. Now she read big chapter books that weren't even 'trashy romance' ones. They were non-fiction and related to politics of this and several past centuries.

As for romantic and comedic movies, she hadn't seen one since she had been chosen to become half of Relena Darlian. ****

"Ahem."

Minako's fake-blonde hair whipped her in the face as she snapped around to seewho had come into her room. Damn those well-oiled doors. A great sigh of relief rushed out as she realized it was only the person who looked exactly like her – Usagi.****

Usagi smiled and sat down on the bed next to her. "What are you reading?"

Minako flipped the book over and read out loud, "The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848, by ah...Eric Hobsbawm. 1 The title is pretty self-explanatory. And that's A.D., not A.C."

"I see." Usagi had a rather strange look on her face.****

Minako frowned and sighed before folding down the corner of the page – another of Relena's little habits – and put the book away. "You've obviously come here for some reason.What's up?"

Usagi gulped and took a deep breath. "Well, I just wanted to talk."

Minako raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded. Usagi was acting very strange. "About...?" Her hands rolled over each other in the universal expression of 'please continue.' ****

Usagi's words exploded out of her in a rush, "I wanted to talk about Hiiro."****

"What about him?" What the heck? Honestly, what was Usagi saying?****

"I just feel like he had been putting so much pressure on us to be like Relena." Usagi's breath rate had jumped considerably.

"Well it is his job. And if we aren't perfect, someone will find out and there will be a major war, again!" ****

"I know, I know. But it just feels like we never actually get a break," she waved her hand, "from all of this."****

"I guess not. Although, Relena never got any breaks." Minako's voice was uncertain. What exactly was Usagi trying to get at?

"Precisely. Look what she is now!"

"Yes, well...right." Her eyes shifted slowly from side to side and settled on her book. "I, ah, I need to finish the book. I need to know what happens next – it's killing me."

Now Usagi was looking at her strangely. Minako opened her book and began to read once more. ****

Usagi lifted herself from the bed and left with the words, "I'll be seeing you then." Her jaw was clenched and she was frowning as she left. ****

"Yeah..." But Minako was too engrossed in her book to notice anything Usagi said or did.

…………………

"So where is Usagi?" Hiiro's grating monotone passed over each of his co-workers before any of them realized that Hiiro had spoken. The uneasiness of the Pilots rolled off them in waves.

Always the diplomatic one, Quatre was the first to speak, "We aren't quite sure."****

Hiiro frowned. "Why not?"

The conference room was cold, but not as cold as Hiiro's tone. Silence prevailed through the room as each Pilot realized answering couldbe dangerous to his health. Even Duo, with his brash attitude, was not willing to risk Hiiro's wrath.****

"Well, where is she?"

Wufei took his life in his hands, "Last she was seen was with Minako approximately one hour ago."

"And did any of you interrogate Minako?" Hiiro's displeasure was now easily visible to all. His eye was twitching and his voice wasn't up to its usual smooth monotone.

Each of them mumbled a quick, "Yes."

"What were the results of the interrogation?"

When nobody answered, Duo knew it was up to him. He really wished it wasn't. "Minako was unusually distracted." ****

Hiiro frowned and he snapped, "By what?" ****

Duo muttered, "A book." ****

"A book?" Hiiro's tone was incredulous.****

With his usual naïveté, Duo answered the question. "Yeah, a book." And then continued. "Can you believe it? She chose that boring and stupid book over _me_!"****

Hiiro's mouth twitched before resuming its state of infuriation. "Then why didn't you take the book away from her?"

Duo commenced whining, "We did. And she was still distracted." ****

Trowa's gaze lifted from his hands, "She didn't know anything. She said Usagi came to talk to her and left. Usagi's last words were 'I'll be seeing you'."

"And none of you bothered to ask her what she and Usagi talked about?"Hiiro practically sneered as he wondered whether he really had to do everything himself. ****

Quatre softly replied, "She looked so tired. And she was distracted anyway."****

Hiiro's normally blue eyes were nearly black with anger. Trowa's eyebrows rose as he considered the current state of Hiiro's eyes. Was it healthy for them to be that dark? Or was that just an abnormally large amount of blood converging in the iris? Either way, Hiiro showing emotion was a rather agreeable respite from his usual nondescript attitude. Of course, if Hiiro continued to stay that way, his eyes might explode and that would be well...bad. ****

After a moment of silence, Hiiro spoke. "Fine, let's go. _I_ will question Minako."****

Each of the former Gundam Pilots followed like sheep as Hiiro-Bo-Peep led them to Minako's room.

…………………

"_Under the circumstances transport by water was therefore not only easier and cheaper, but often also (except for the uncertainties of the wind and weather) faster._" The book was fascinating and Minako ran her hands through her hair for the thousandth time that day. Except this time the door to her room slammed openabruptly and she yanked on her hair, pulling out long strands of honey-blonde. ****

"Ouch!" She stared angrily at the wisps of hair before dropping it onto the bed and noticed Hiiro standing directly in front of her. His arms were crossed, his eyes narrowed, and a huge scowl completed the picture. The book quickly joined the locks of hair on her bed as she stared at him in awestruck fascination. How did he do that?****

"Where is Usagi?"

Minako flinched; he was quite to the point wasn't he? "Er..."

"Answer me."

"I...don't know?"

He frowned. "You must know. Do not lie to me." ****

Duo coughed behind Hiiro, tapped him on the shoulder, and in a whisper that could have been heard on Earth, "I don't think she knows."****

"Shut up, Duo." His eyes never left Minako's face. "Where is she?"

"I don't know! She came in, complained about how this job was never-ending and – oh! Can we watch the Never-Ending Story later? It's such a good movie. Old, but good." Her eyes gleamed with hope.

Which was swiftly crushed as Hiiro frowned. "No, we will not watch the Never-Ending Tale, or whatever it is you speak of. Continue with telling us what Usagi talked to you about."

"Uhm, she said she was annoyed with you. She wanted a break. And something about Relena."

Hiiro's jaw clenched and he swallowed convulsively. His voice was low and deadly, "And what did she say about Relena?"

Minako quickly realized her life was hanging in the balance. Her next words could very well condemn both her _and_ Usagi. Uh, she said Relena was overworked? Something like that?"

Hiiro's fists spastically clenched and then completely relaxed. "Fine. She can have her temper tantrum. We have better things to do than cater to her petty hysterics. Minako, you will be taking her place in the conference today."

"But..." Hiiro glared. "Okay." It really wasn't. She had nearly broken down in front of the entire council last time. She had cried in front of Hiiro. The council was cold and mean, and they were probably plotting her – or at least Relena's, which would really still result in her own – death as she sat here. And where _was_ Usagi? It wasn't like Usagi to just disappear without telling somebody where she'd gone. ****

Hiiro nodded and turned to the rest of the gathered people, readying himself to leave. ****

Minako watched in stunned surprise as Quatre shot Hiiro a disgusted look. "We will go after her. Obviously, Hiiro, you don't realize the danger of having a Relena replica walking around." ****

Quatre hesitated, then turned to Duo and grabbed his arm on the way out of the room. "Duo, let's go."

"But..."

"Duo, let's go!"

"But Hiiro just said-"

Quatre growled. "Forget about what Hiiro said." ****

"But I don't wanna go!"

Quatre's face was furious as he shouted, "I don't care!"

The entire room looked on in shock as Quatre dragged the speechless Duo out of the room in search of Usagi. ****

…………………

The missing girl sat on a log, grimacing when the moss dampened her pants. ****

As if it wasn't bad enough that Hiiro didn't seem to have any personality at all. No, he had to be in a strange sort of love-filled and love-less – basically a love-haterelationship with Relena. Of course, he was now projecting onto Minako – which was all kinds of bad. Minako was most definitely not in need of the destructive love that Hiiro had in store for her.

An hour more of tramping around the simulated forest brought her to the same mossy log. She kicked at the dead tree, which led to her clenching her jaw and grapping her foot in pain. ****

"Damn, stupid log." She hopped around for a bit before sitting downon said log. Usagi sighed and leaned back. She sat up abruptly when the crunch of dead leaves alerted her to approaching persons.

"I just don't think we should have disobeyed him like that! He's gonna kill us. He's going to pull out his gun and point it between my eyes, and pull the stupid trigger. Or before that he's going to-"

"Hush, I think I hear someone."

Usagi let a small shriek before standing and sprinting away.

"There she is!"

"Miss Usagi, please wait. Miss Usagi!"

She only ran faster. But true to form, Usagi tripped over her own feet. Duo and Quatre easily caught up to her after that. Duo pulled her to her feet, speaking all the while, "Usagi, you need to come with us. You need to come back."

She frowned, turning her back to him and picking dead leaves out of her hair. "I'm not going back. Hiiro's an asshole and Minako is taking his side. I need a break, Minako needs a break – we _all _need a break." ****

"Just because you are stressed does not mean you can take off. Why not talk to one of us?" Quatre's eyes were wide with concern.

"I talked to Minako. She said we couldn't take a break. She said something to the effect of 'we need constant vigilance'." Her voice grew mocking as she imitated her pseudo-twin, "Otherwise the world will be destroyed."

"I'm sorry to say this, but it is entirely true. If anyone were to find out about this deception..." Quatre had no need to elaborate further.

"I don't care! I just want to go home. I want to be free. No wonder Relena became a psycho-anorexic! Look at all the pressure you idiots put on us. Now think of how she must feel being the real deal. The real thing. Knowing that if _she_ messed up the entire world's weight would be on her shoulders. Minako and I could just as easily walk away from this and let Relena deteriorate further with no guilt on our part. It's not our job."

Duo gazed at the two of them with wide and sad eyes. Face pale with the shock of such a cruel revelation, he rasped, "It wasn't like that." ****

Quatre nodded silently, considering each person's words carefully. His query was thoughtful, "Why do you say that she was psycho?"

Usagi frowned. "You'd have to be psycho to be anorexic." ****

Quatre's eyes dimmed and he looked down at the forest floor. "I'm sorry to say that I disagree, Miss Usagi. I believe being anorexic means that you feel as if you have lost all control of your life." His voice grew stronger as he looked up with the light of sincerity in his eyes. "I think that it means you can't turn to anyone because they would order you to do something different. And that the one person you would turn to, the one you love the most, seems to like you the least." He turned to Duo. "But in one respect, Miss Usagi is correct. Relena was a puppet. A little marionette whose –" His voice cracked. "Whose strings were cut."

Usagi opened her mouth to speak but held her tongue and looked away. Quatre stared at the dying leaves once more and Duo looked aside as if ready to cry.

…………………

Minako stepped into the chilly conference room, her pant-suit an inadequate barrier against the cold glares of the rest of the council. She sat in her allotted chair, at the head of the table. She was frantic and panicking; knowing that at any moment they could realize it wasn't really Relena sitting in the chair. She had hardly been in there four minutes before she had broken down yesterday – not nearly enough time for them to realize who she was. Or rather, who she _wasn't_.

The bitter voice of Lady Une marched through the room. "This meeting is called to order. And please, no hysterics or emotional outbursts today. We need to get through quite a bit today. Miss Relena, if you would please open the discussion." A murmur of assent went through the room.

Minako shuddered as she felt the entire council settle their accusing eyes upon her. She took a deep breath that didn't look like a deep breath and began. "Today we will discuss the recent illegal transport of biological weaponry to Earth. Has anyone been able to track the destination of any of this weaponry?"

The Secretary General of L2 Homeland Security replied in his deep monotone. "No, Lady Relena. They have all been detained at all types of airports, from commercial to private. We believe we have all of the weapons sent, but we have no way of being one hundred percent sure."

A small and mousy man, obviously from L2, interrupted the discourse. "Excuse me, but I believe we should discuss what is happening with the new president of ESUN. President Macherenkokoviek seems largely inadequate for his new position, and as such we are not very willing to negotiate with such ease as we did before." A large buzz swept through the room at the bluntness of his words.

Minako went pale as she gulped. Who was this man? Would it be entirely too rude if she just asked him who he was? She paused as she concentrated on her next words, for fear that she might ask him who he was. "Of course we can discuss this. Who would rather discuss this now rather than later?"

The man replied, "As Chairman of L2 Defense, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we believe that it is necessary to discuss the new presidency and its beliefs." He looked to his fellow compatriots, who nodded. "_Before_ we continue with negotiations."

Minako calmly nodded, though her hands were clenched tightly in her lap. "Of course." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "The new president is, as noted, new to the job and inexperienced in this position. We, within ESUN, doubt that he was fully prepared to deal with such an immediate induction. Therefore, while he does appear to be ill-suited to his station, we assure you he is quite capable."

"But why should we continue these negotiations to find this one trouble-maker? Your confederacy has accused our colony as a whole of being responsible for the weapon exchange."

Lady Une looked to Minako's pale face and at long last took control of the conversation. "We have not accused the entirety of the L2 _colony_. We have merely stated that the smuggler seems to come from somewhere within the L2 colony. It has also come to our attention that there may be some amount of treachery within your councils. This person may be concealing the weapons smuggler." Lady Une's face remained impassive, though her voice grew stronger. "_As_ _such_ information came to our attention – we could not exclude prosecution of any person from _any_ of your councils."

The outspoken chairman flinched and silence prevailed over the cool room.

Minako finally spoke up. "Do we have a general idea as to who would like these biological weapons at all?"

The Chairman gave her a nasty look, but provided her the information. "From the nature of the messages intercepted by the production companies of these weapons, it would seem that it is one person rather than an entire group of people orchestrating the transportation of these weapons. Unfortunately, in tracing these messages we have come to a dead end. It seems that the person is very good at covering his tracks."****

"Why would you say the person is so clever atcovering his tracks?"

The Secretary General coughed. "According to our tracking devices, the person either lives in a black hole _several_ light years away from this colony, or he is well able to cover his tracks. I personally am not able to see how your government decided that the weaponry was from L2."

Minako frowned. "The equipment and containers were made from exclusively L2 metals."

…………………

The end. And there 'tis, folks. :3


	17. Chapter 16

* * *

The L2 councilmen surreptitiously glared at Minako. They obviously felt contempt for this woman who would accuse their government of corruption.

Minako shuddered inwardly. They must have been plotting her death right then. She stood and placed her hands on the varnished table. "It is a good time for a small recess. Let us reconvene in one hour." A small murmur of agreement arose, and she walked out of the room to the stoic and solemn Hiiro.

* * *

"Miss Usagi, please reconsider. I know..." Quatre was clearly miserable, and he was making her feel guilty for being angry about anything at all. "I know you don't like the job and all the pressure that's being put on the two of you, but please do not abandon us now."

Usagi bit her lip and glanced at Duo. His face was still tilted away, his eyes shadowed by his clumping bangs. She turned back to Quatre with a frown. "I just don't think I can pull it off anymore. I think if I continue to try, I'm only going to end up leading us all into war."

She jumped when Duo finally spoke. "But don't you see? If you leave, then who will support Minako? Is it going to be Hiiro?" He sneered. "Hiiro doesn't care about anyone but himself. He thinks he cares about Relena, but all he cares about is how her being unhealthy is affecting him." He fell mute as his companions stared at him with worry in their eyes.

"It's not like you guys can't see it. Everyone knows how Hiiro is." Duo looked for confirmation, but only received confusion. "He's psychotic! He tried to kill himself when a stupid mission didn't go to plan. He mopes around and rants at us when he doesn't feel happy. Ever since we realized Relena was sick, he's looked like someone ate his Gundam."

Usagi's mouth twitched and Quatre acquired a suspicious tic in his left eye. Duo took no notice.

"Honestly, haven't you guys noticed any of this?" The two blondes nodded. He wailed. "Then why doesn't anyone say anything?"

Quatre coughed. "With all due respect, Duo, it's not really our place to delve into Hiiro's private life. He has never invited us to, nor even given us any real indication that we are his friends. If we were to go by his actions to us, we can only assume that he considers us business partners. No more, no less."

"That's crap, and you know it, Quatre. Hiiro doesn't say much, but when push comes to shove he's there for us. One hundred percent, all the way. He just has a funny way of showing it otherwise." He grinned. "And of course it's our place to nose into his private life. If we don't, who will?"

"Well, I assume he would prefer it that no one would invade his privacy."

Usagi watched the exchange in awe.

"So...? He obviously needs someone to do the dirty work. He's isn't exactly willing to attach himself to anyone by choice. Just look where Relena..." Duo trailed off as he finally realized who he was talking about. "Where she-"

Quatre's face paled dramatically. "I think that's enough."

Duo grunted and turned away, heading towards the hotel. Quatre followed, lost in his own thoughts and leaving Usagi behind.

She contemplated her options, weighing possible insanity against inevitable war. There was no real comparison. It was no wonder Relena had the problems she did if she had to make choices – that weren't really choices – like these everyday.

Usagi ran to catch up, decay and rot crunching under her feet with every step.

* * *

Hiiro stood in a foliage shaded corner on full alert. His eyes searched for possible threats from every direction, his gaze resting on the conference doors more often than not. He pulled out his gun and examined it, assuring himself that the machine was in perfect working order.

The doors opened on their well oiled hinges, the gun was back in its hiding spot, and he was crouched to attack if there was any sign of misbehavior. He nearly sighed with relief when Minako stepped out of the room, glancing around in her search for someone. Most likely him. The other council members trailed out behind her, their destination the other direction that he had situated himself in, and obviously food.

He cleared his throat and Minako's head whipped around to look straight at him. He stared coldly back, and nodded. She stepped forward and the question in her eyes was clearly evident.

"No, she has not been found as far as I know."

Minako's eyes cast downward. "I'm sorry."

Hiiro felt an odd impulse to comfort her. His voice was harsh. "It's not all your fault." Her gaze snapped to his and his eyes widened. He felt his hands surge up in an effort to defend himself from her shocked and accusing gaze. Hiiro took a deep breath and forced himself to relax, his arms dropping to his sides and his eyes returning to their naturally glaring state.

"How much time do we have?"

"I said to meet in one hour."

Hiiro nodded in approval. "Let's go." He began to trek in the opposite direction of the hungry diplomats.

After a few moments of silence, Minako asked, "Where are we going?"

Hiiro grunted. "To the vid-phones – away from the hotel restaurant. I don't want to talk to the others while anywhere near anyone else."

"Oh..."

Their travels ended ten minutes later after a quick bathroom break and a small detour after a wrong turn. Hiiro set up the video phone and listened to the ringing of the other line as Minako wiggled her fingers and examined the palm of her hand. He raised an eyebrow, doubting the girl's sanity, but wiped his face of emotion when the ringing stopped and Quatre picked up the phone.

"Has she been found?"

Quatre's face was solemn. "She's right here." Usagi's face blinked into existence, before she was shoved out of the way by Duo.

"We found her! We got the girl." Duo winked and Usagi's high-pitched _Hey! _could be heard in the background.

Hiiro grunted. "Good. Let me speak to her." The vid-phone showed no one, though there was some definite struggling going on in the background.

Minako cleared her throat. "Try and be nice, Hiiro. I think this is harder for her than she lets on."

"Hn..." He turned back to the vid-phone with a scowl. Inevitably, Usagi was there with a scowl of her own. "You are not to leave the hotel room until Minako and I return. That is a direct order. Is that understood?"

Usagi glared. "Got it..." She mumbled a quick, "Asshole." Before turning her back on him and disappearing from sight. He ground his teeth together and waited for one of the guardians to return. Surprisingly, Trowa was the one to appear.

"Trowa, make sure she does not leave again. If she leaves, I will kill you."

Trowa narrowed his visible eye, nodded, and signed off, leaving Hiiro with an irritated Minako.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Hiiro walked back toward the conference room with a short, "Hn..."

"She doesn't like you that much to begin with. She probably hates you now."

"I don't care."

"You should!"

Hiiro walked faster and Minako began to trot to catch up.

"Slow down!" Hiiro grimaced, but slowed down.

"That's better. Now, why is she going to listen to you now that you've just basically taken the most chauvinistic approach possible?"

"It's not my problem. She does not obey wishes, so she will obey commands."

"You're stupid, you know that?"

"Hn..."

"No girl likes to be bossed around. You're being the bossiest boss ever! No wonder she doesn't want to listen to you. What exactly did she do to get on your bad side? You were mad at her before she ran away."

"It does not matter. We have half an hour to get you food and into the conference. You should concentrate on making sure you do not say something foolish and initiate a war."

Minako's face fell at his critical words. "It's not like I'm trying to start a war."

Hiiro frowned in annoyance. He hadn't meant to accuse her. "I'm not accusing you. It's advice. Take it or leave it."

Minako didn't look any happier. He sighed. "You are a good diplomat. Obviously you are not as good as Relena, but you were not trained to it since birth. She was. Just concentrate on what you are saying and you will do fine."

Minako was practically beaming at his praise. She smiled her most genuine smile and he felt like he had been punched in the gut. It was an almost identically genuine Relena smile. He glanced away and avoided her eyes for the rest of the walk to the hotel restaurant.

* * *

Hiiro had said not to leave the hotel room, but in actuality the room was a suite. And the suite was about the size of a nice apartment on Earth. Usagi sat on her bed contemplating a picture of Relena she had swiped from Hiiro.

She scowled. Relena stood in a pair of pink silk pajama pants and shirt, her face shining as she cuddled a doll. On closer inspection, there were little white lines coming away from the doll, and Usagi wiped the picture. The lines never went away. Usagi snarled and flung the picture to the carpet.

She stood and her foot came down nicely on the picture, wrinkling it from perfection. Relena's face was now distorted and the doll sat in an awkward pose. She picked the picture up, crumpling it into a small ball - wrinkling into a state that could never become perfect again.

Usagi smiled with satisfaction when she opened the picture and smoothed it out. Relena wasn't perfect. But she was still smiling. Tearing hard down the middle, Usagi was pleased when the sound of ripping filled the air.

She hated Relena.

_Rip, rip._

She hated everything about Relena. She hated the grace with which Relena ruled the world. Even if she hadn't been technically, everyone knew she was. She had ruled with an iron fist, but made it seem as if she cradled society with a silken glove.

_Rip, rip._

Relena was dying though. She deserved anything bad that happened to her.

_Rip, rip._

Everyone knew that no one could be that perfect without being a bitch at heart.

_Rip, rip._

Then again, that was the problem, wasn't it? She wasn't a bitch. Not one bit.

_Rip, rip._

She was perfect. Even with her sickness, she was perfect in every way.

_Rip._

Perfect in ways Usagi could only dream of. The tiny pieces of picture fluttered onto the bed.

* * *

"So what should I talk about while I'm in there? I think the meeting is wrapping up. When I go back in, there isn't really anything else to discuss."

"So finish it. We'll discuss everything that went on with Usagi and the others. They need to be informed, and it will be easier to do it all at once, rather than being retold."

Minako smiled briefly and made ready to walk into the boardroom. "Well here goes."

Hiiro nodded and faded into the shadows of the potted plants. "You'll be fine."

Minako walked into the easy camaraderie of the L2 delegation, only to have them each stiffen and throw her cold glares as she took her seat. She steeled herself with Hiiro's encouragement and remained emotionless. "Is there anything else that is need of discussion?"

A portly man to her left spoke up. "Yes, Lady Relena. It would seem that..."

The discussions continued for another four hours.

Duo reclined in a wonderfully plush leather ottoman as he watched Big Brother 5034. God, it was a horrible show. Unfortunately, it was strangely addictive. He watched with fascination as Shinji said he was sorry - on the pre-taped video - to the irate Asuka for voting her out.

The television went black at just the moment Asuka started her reply to the backstabbing Shinji. Duo's mouth gaped open and he whimpered. Looking around for the remote, he came face-to-face with Wufei.

Wufei smiled at him with sadistic glee. "Now you'll never know what she was going to say. That was the last chance to see that episode."

Duo paled. "It's not true. It's not true."

"Oh, yes it is."

"Noooooooo!" He wailed for another five minutes before something in his mind clicked. His brow furrowed. "How did you know that?"

Wufei raised an eyebrow before turning from the television and walking from the room. Duo lurched after him, but was stopped short by the entrance of Hiiro and Minako. Hiiro glared at him and Duo backed down. "So er...how was the meeting?"

Minako opened her mouth to answer but Hiiro cut in. "It went fine. Where is the girl?"

Minako's mouth snapped shut and Duo coughed. "Uh, she's in her room."

"Fine." Hiiro pushed past Duo and dragged Minako to Usagi's room.

Duo trailed after them and then stared, enthralled, as Usagi blew up at Hiiro.

"How dare you _order_ me to stay in this room? How _dare_ you?" Usagi's face was florid and she clenched something very tightly in her fist.

Hiiro grunted. "You were disobedient."

"I don't care _what_ I was. You don't have the right!"

"I do."

"Like hell you do!"

"Hn..."

Usagi threw what seemed to be pieces of paper at Hiiro. He never even flinched.

"That's what I think of you and Relena. You order me around and then expect me to be loyal to you. I'm not stupid and I'm not in the military. I only give respect when it is given to me."

"Hn..."

Usagi looked at Hiiro with disgust. "It looks like I was wasting my time. You are obviously not even intelligent enough to reply properly." She looked off to the side and smiled with cruel intensity. "No wonder Relena can't stand to live. She loved you and you probably can't even pronounce the words _I love you_."

Usagi gagged as Hiiro's hands wrapped around her neck. Duo ran to drag Hiiro off Usagi, but Hiiro had a death grip on Usagi. "Don't you _ever_ insult Relena like that _ever_ again. Do you hear me? NEVER SPEAK OF HER!" Hiiro's face was red with fury and his lips were pulled back in a vicious snarl.

Usagi's face drained of color and she fell unconscious as Duo cracked Hiiro over the head with his own gun.

* * *

AN: Ashika speaking. Well people, please don't expect chapter to come this quickly all the time. You might have noticed that RTI is going slowly. Very slowly. I hope guys liked this chapter, and continue reading! Please? ;)


	18. Chapter 17

* * *

CMH – 16

Usagi studiously ignored Hiiro while Hiiro scrutinized Usagi endlessly.

Minako shuddered. The tension on the airplane was thick enough to cut – and she was right in the middle of the two. Not only that, but her hair was pulled up underneath a very itchy, very warm, very _black_ wig. Usagi's own hair was covered with a stylish white cap that she had been _ordered_ not to take off. Both of them had undergone a small make-over before boarding the airplane.

Turning to Usagi, she smiled and opened her mouth to speak. Usagi merely gazed at her with watery eyes and looked away. Minako turned to Hiiro, hoping to make some sort of conversation with him.

"Hiiro, how are you?" she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine."

"You don't look so great."

"Hn..." He turned away.

Minako looked at him worriedly. "She doesn't hate you."

Usagi snapped at Minako from behind. "I can hear you. And I do hate him."

Minako gulped and spoke in a normal tone. "You don't mean that."

Usagi snorted. "Like hell I don't."

"Leave her alone."

"Trying to get into her pants?" Usagi sneered.

The color drained from Minako's face. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she attempted to stem the flow of tears. "I-I have to go to the washroom."

"Hn..."

* * *

"Hiiro?"

"What?"

"Do you hate her, Hiiro?"

"No."

"But she hates you."

"Hn..."

"Can't you guys at least try to get along?"

* * *

A smiling flight attendant pulled her suit into place before heading out to deliver the in-flight meals. The threesome sitting in aisle 27 were being particularly troublesome; the hostility radiating off them was irritating the other passengers.

She pushed the crate down the aisle with a practiced smile, eventually coming to the scowling trio.

"Chicken, salmon, or vegetarian?"

The blonde girl smiled tremulously. "Chicken, please."

The flight attendant smiled, passing the tray to the girl as she asked the same question to the girl with the wig. Her tone was sympathetic after deciding the girl must have fallen victim to an acute case of cancer. Scientists never did find a cure-all for the ancient disease. "And what would you like?"

"I'll have the vegetarian, please." And she was so polite, too.

The flight attendant smiled one more time at the girl before turning to the man looking out the window.

"What meal would you like, sir?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over his companions.

"Excuse me, sir? Would you like chicken, salmon, or the vegetarian meal?"

His cold blue eyes glared at her before turning back to the window – she flinched. Her face a few shades paler, she withdrew. The blonde touched her arm. "I'll take another chicken meal, please. Save it for later." The girl smiled briefly before turning back to her meal of chicken and potatoes.

"Of course, miss."

As she rolled the crate to the next person, she heard the young man snap at the blonde. "Are you trying to eat yourself out of this job?"

The blonde replied with deadly sweetness. "At least I won't be in a hospital waiting for treatment because my guardian couldn't bring himself to care for me until it was too late."

The flight attendant winced with more misplaced sympathy for the thin girl sitting in the middle of the childish feud.

* * *

"Usagi..."

"What?"

"Couldn't you forgive Hiiro? Please?"

"No."

"Why not? Why can't you forgive him?"

"Hmph..."

"Not even for me?"

* * *

Hiiro contemplated the stars and the universe as they rushed by. He frowned and turned away, hoping that the girl hadn't eaten his lunch. He looked over to see that, indeed, she had.

He fell easily into his habitual monotone. "So I see you've taken it upon yourself to eat my lunch."

The girl's voice was like acid. "It's mine. When the flight attendant came, you glared and I asked nicely. It's as simple as that."

"Next time, do not be so presumptuous."

"Fuck you."

He smirked. "Nice to see you've expanded your vocabulary to such vulgarity."

Minako cut into the conversation, her voice sharp with annoyance. "Shut up, both of you. All you two ever seem to do is argue, and none of it is helping anybody."

They each fell into an uneasy silence once more.

Minako sighed beside him. "Look, guys. Can't we just get along? Hiiro, I don't think I can do this without you. Usa, I know we can't do it without you. I know I'm not strong enough to do this by myself."

Usagi snorted and jerked her thumb in Hiiro's direction. "Tell idiot over there that."

"I am! I'm telling you both!"

Hiiro frowned. "I will not be subject to such negative speculation of my own person."

Minako groaned. "Hiiro..."

Usagi's eyes were wide with mock-surprise. "Too bad you couldn't force yourself to undergo a personality reformation." She smiled. "And too bad you couldn't have-"

"Usagi, that's _enough_," Minako snapped.

Usagi grumbled. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say."

Hiiro turned furious eyes to the burning particles of gas light years away and wished he was anywhere but here.

Usagi's gaze constantly drifted back to the frighteningly unemotional man to her far right. Of course, that wasn't completely true. He _had _lost his temper, and almost choked her to death. That had been disastrous. Her throat still ached.

Usagi closed her eyes and sighed. Did life always have to be so hard? Hiiro hated her, Minako didn't seem too pleased...

She sighed, leaned her head back, and somehow fell asleep.

It felt like only seconds later when Minako nudged her awake. 'Hey, Usagi! It's time to get up."

Usagi blinked blearily. "What?"

"The plane is landing."

Usagi cocked her head to the side as the pilot announced the arrival of the aircraft on Earth. Her eyes threatened to close again, but Minako's sharp elbow drove into her ribs. "Ow, stop that!"

"Well you were going to fall asleep again."

"I was not!"

"Was too."

"Was not!"

Minako smirked and crossed her arms. "You were too, so stop trying to deny it."

Usagi looked off to the side and mumbled, "I hate you."

The smirk maintained its width. "What was that?"

"Nothing..."

The plane slowly descended and finally jerked to a stop.

Minako glanced at Hiiro and a determined expression appeared on her face. "Usagi, you should talk to Hiiro."

Usagi gave her a strange look. "Why?

"You should try to resolve things with him."

"I don't want to."

"Just say something to him."

Usagi clenched her jaw and began getting ready to get off the plane.

"Usagi, let's go." Minako gently prodded her out of her seat.

"Whatever."

Walking off the plane she felt Hiiro's eyes burn perpetual holes in her back. She slowed her steps and waited for him. She gestured to Minako, telling her to move on ahead.

Hiiro glared as she walked beside him. "What do you want?"

"I honestly think I hate you. I think I hate everything you represent and everything you are. In fact, you don't deserve to be cared about." She hesitated. "But for the sake of people I love, I'll tolerate you."

Hiiro never even flinched. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?"

"No. I want you to be gone as soon as possible."

Usagi paled. "What did you say?"

Hiiro turned dead eyes to her. "You heard me."

"No."

A spark of anger flared in Hiiro's eyes. "What?"

She smirked. "You heard me."

The spark in his eyes was quickly smothered. "Do whatever you want then."

He lengthened his stride and walked ahead.

She grimaced and shouted ahead. "You bet your butt I will!"

Hiiro's smooth gait paused, but then continued.

Usagi smiled right before realizing her two companions were really quite far ahead of her – she burst into a sprint.

People stared as a petite girl ran by, blonde hair streaming from a stylish white cap. They then smiled; the girl so obviously ecstatic it brought even the most depressed people joy.

No one seemed to notice the dark haired man, who smiled just the same as everyone else. Whose eyes shimmered with a different sort of joy.

* * *

AN: Ashika speaking: Well, this was sort of strange. Took me awhile to finish too. Sorry about that. Oh, the two interludes in the middle were meant to sound a lot alike. I don't know if anyone caught onto that.

I promise things will be happier next chapter. Anyway, let me know how it is! (Please)


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: No own GW/SM.

My chapter, my chapter, my chapter…! Hahaha. I'm just kidding. :3 But I did write it. :D I'm being more … active, shall we say, with CMH. :D This is Angelight, by the way. xD; Andand … you can call me a hypocrite … and I'll agree with you. xD; Enjoy?

Chapter 18

It was 8:05 p.m. and they were fashionably late to the annual Winner charity ball and silent auction.

Well, Usagi personally thought that an hour and five minutes late was already well outside the realm of vogue courtesy and deep into the ravine of rudeness, and Hiiro had whole-heartedly agreed, making his displeasure quite clear by choosing to sit up front in the limousine. So that left Minako, the cause of the tardiness, and her to sit in the back, staring out opposite windows, at a loss of words for lack of their moody chaperone.

Usagi thought it was rather funny how though Hiiro had as much personality as lint, he was able to stimulate so much conversation. Maybe it was within the presence of so _irritatingly stiff_ a person that both she and Minako felt the urge to lighten the mood. Maybe, if she wanted to be extreme, Hiiro was the glue to Minako and her relationship.

Now that was pretty depressing.

"You and Hiiro made up?" Minako had finally broken the silence and yet … it was faintly disturbing that the first topic Minako picked was so deeply rooted in that piece of lint called Hiiro.

"Well…"

"I'm glad you did," she continued before Usagi could get another word out. "If it were not for that, I'd still be trying to tune out your childish bickering."

Usagi turned quickly and glared at Minako's dispassionate profile. "I'm _not_ childish."

"And I'm not blonde," she retorted coolly.

Usagi's eyes softened and puzzlement settled over her face. "Is something the matter, Minako?"

She thought she saw Minako's hands tremble before she folded them tightly in her lap. "Why would anything be the matter?" Her voice broke and got higher and higher with every word as if she were unable to control its pitch with perfect composure. "How many days have passed since we started as Relena?"

"About a month."

Minako looked startled. "Only a month? I feel like … I feel like so many years of my life have passed by."

Usagi didn't know what to say.

"I'm starting to think you were right. I can't help but wonder why I continue to do this. I'm tired, Usagi. Do you think this was how Relena felt?"

Usagi took her time replying. "I'm sure this is how Relena felt. But you are the one who convinced me that I needed to stay here. We're in this together." _We are, we are_, she repeated to herself mentally.

"Please, Usagi. What can I get out of this dead-end job? I'm not a compassionate person, Usagi. I'm selfish. I don't care if there is a war as long as _I'm_ not involved." Minako was avoiding eye contact and had long resumed looking out the window. The car was slowing to a stop.

"What can I get out of this dead-end job? I'm not a compassionate person, Usagi. I'm selfish. I don't care if there is a war as long as _I'm_ not involved." Minako was avoiding eye contact and had long resumed looking out the window. The car was slowing to a stop.

"I don't think anybody is compassionate by nature. We _choose_ to be compassionate. And I think that you _do _choose to be compassionate. For whatever reason, does it matter? Just the fact that you're…that you're-"

The driver opened Minako's door and she stepped out first as if completely deaf to Usagi's words. Usagi gaped after her.

"That you're still here shows that you _are_ compassionate!" she shouted after her just as Hiiro appeared at the limousine door. His eyes briefly shifted to Minako's retreating form into the Winner mansion as cameras flashed and the fifty some reporters camped out at the entrance fell silent. When he turned back, Hiiro reached in and grabbed her hand, his fingers deathly cold, and virtually yanked her out of the limousine.

"A mistake. That was a mistake," he ground out in her ear as he reached over to close the door, one hand still holding an umbrella over her head as it was just beginning to drizzle.

"Miss Darlian! Who was that woman just then?" somebody shouted to her from the back of the crowd as Hiiro tried to help her push her way through. There was a general roar of assenting voices.

"Is she a relative?" somebody else added, fanning the flame of Hiiro's anger. Usagi walked quickly and didn't dare look back. Hiiro's hand was at the small of her back, pushing her forward, cold and unrelenting. Though he was in no way confining her, Usagi could feel frigid authority emanating off that hand and felt obliged to obey.

They finally made it to sanctity. Minako was nowhere to be found but at least Quatre's small personal army kept the reporters out.

Honeyed light pooled on swirling marble and a multitude of happy, million-dollar faces turned to watch and acknowledge her entrance, smiling, nodding. After all, nobody could ignore the presence of Relena Darlian.

Quatre was at her side before she knew it. "I'm glad you're here, Miss Relena." That statement was for show, his tone holding all the airs of a host. "There is somebody who wants to meet you." That tone was much darker. "I think you might like him." That tone was outright sarcastic.

"Hiiro, you're going to have to stay back. It's a charity ball – no need for paranoia and bodyguards," Quatre added as an afterthought to Hiiro who frowned but consented, stepping a couple of steps back but not losing his countenance of mistrust.

Usagi turned back quickly and whispered, "Don't worry, Hiiro. I can play my part." The line itself was almost a challenge. She would've felt slighted had Hiiro _not _known that she could carry on fine with or without him.

He barely had time to reply, "But can Minako?" before Quatre pulled her away into the gilded mass.

…………………

"I watched you guys enter," Quatre started quietly as they walked along, stopping every now and then to greet guests or accept their compliments. "The biggest problem wasn't that you shouted after Minako though that in itself is potentially dangerous due to the reporters," he continued, muttering to her under his breath while maintaining a smile. "Rather it's that you allowed her to step out first. As Relena _Darlian_ the only people you are second to are the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. Don't ever allow another person to step out before you. It's taboo and you want to fit in. Here we are."

A man, tall, dark-haired, stood at the center of a crowd of both female admirers and sycophant colleagues. He saw Quatre approached and flashed him a smile before murmuring excuse me's to his fans and stepping out from the crowd.

"Mr. Winner, this party has been absolutely enchanting, but perhaps you should have invited fewer politicians? They make the air dank," he joked lightly, grinning and revealing a dimple that undoubtedly had the ability to make ladies swoon.

Quatre courtesy-laughed and replied, "How can you say that when you yourself are one of the most prominent politicians alive?"

The man's eyes sparkled. "Ah, but Mr. Winner, you know I am a far cry from an ordinary politician. But no more. I am appalled by your lack of manners, Mr. Winner. You have yet to introduce this beautiful lady to me." Feigning hurt, he turned to Usagi and swept a bow before catching and kissing her hand. She stared at him, flustered, already feeling a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Miss Relena, this man is Mr. Mamoru Chiba. He is very prominent in the ESUN infrastructure; I'm sure you've heard of him already." Usagi managed a dazed nod at Quatre's subtle cue. "And Mr. Chiba, this is Miss Relena Darlian."

Mamoru shot her a suave smile. "But of course you are Miss Darlian; I recognized you the instant you walked into the ballroom." He bowed to her again. "And if Mr. Winner shan't feel insulted, would the beautiful Miss Darlian delight me with a dance?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Usagi saw Quatre nod but noticed the slightest of hesitations. She puzzled over it briefly but let it go and gladly followed Mr. Chiba onto the dance floor.

"Don't you love gavottes, Miss Darlian?" he asked smoothly, guiding her as if she were a perfect glass figurine across a dance floor of seamless ice.

"I really don't know too much about dancing," she admitted. He looked a bit surprised.

"Surely after all your years of diplomacy and your status of birth, you'd have learned dance extensively?" She could hear amusement in his words but didn't pay it much attention; she was much more worried about her slipup.

"I, uh … It just never really interested me. So I never really remembered it that well."

He laughed lightly. "I'm sure your tutors were pleased."

Usagi managed a wry smile. "You can imagine."

The orchestral quintet slowed to a stop and Mamoru stepped back to bow to her again. "I'm particularly fond of the gavotte because it used to be my sister's favorite dance."

"Used to be?" Usagi raised a concerned eyebrow. "I didn't realize your sister was…"

"Yes," he bowed his head. "She died just recently. We used to be very close. Her death was … very sudden."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she offered, commiserative, and for a moment, she thought he had sounded more angry than despondent … but that mood vanished before she could think further.

…………………

"Don't ever get near that man again if you can help it," Hiiro commanded and Usagi glared up at him with annoyance.

They were one minute into a nine minute waltz. Dancing with Hiiro was very different from dancing with Mamoru Chiba. Hiiro hadn't bowed. She wondered if Hiiro knew how to bow. Hiiro had stomped his way to her the instant Mamoru excused himself and yanked her onto the dance floor. And Hiiro didn't treat her like glass. In fact, Hiiro treated her like wood, as if she were deaf, blind, and mute.

"Why not?" she demanded. "He was very elegant, a perfect gentleman."

"He's after something." Usagi shot him a questioning look and he continued, reluctantly. "He graduated from college at age nineteen and started out as a clerk in the ESUN governmental headquarters. While there, the Secretary of State took a particular liking to him and he became the Secretary's personal assistant at age twenty. When he was twenty-one, the Secretary suffered a stroke and named Chiba his replacement. Chiba served half a year until the next election and in that half a year, he proved to be quite the prodigy so, at age twenty-one, was appointed Secretary of State again by the President who was serving his second term. While serving as Secretary, Chiba impressed the people so much that at the next election, the winning candidate chose him as his running mate. Chiba was twenty-four at that time. This was the year before. However, when it was time to be sworn into office, Chiba refused and named Mr. Macherenkokoviek his substitute and the President consented but unhappily. Chiba chose to drop to Speaker of the House and is serving that role at this moment.

"However, everybody knew that Chiba should have become president when the President died. But Chiba chose to defer. Nobody knows why but most insiders know that Chiba and Macherenkokoviek have a tacit understanding that Chiba is the one pulling the strings. In essence, Chiba is the one in power but doesn't suffer liabilities because he's not in _office_."

Usagi looked in awe at Hiiro and stole a glance at Mr. Chiba on the opposite end of the ballroom, his back to her, his hands moving animatedly as he chatted. "So is he just another immoral politician?"

Hiiro's steps never faltered as he continued to guide her through the dance. "No, Chiba is perfectly moral. He is so moral, in fact, that as Secretary of State, he didn't accept any bribes. It might not seem like a lot but you must realize that every single Secretary since the founding of the ESUN has extensively dabbled in the bribing business. It's highly lucrative. Chiba is also quite a religious fanatic."

"So then what is he after?" Usagi could feel the hair on her arm start to stand and an uneasy feeling creep up her spine.

Hiiro's intensity seemed to fade and he turned away from her as if losing interest. "Nobody knows. But nobody cares either because they trust him."

"Do _you_ trust him?" she ventured timidly.

His eyes met hers again, dark, wintry, and sarcastic. "Of course not."

…………………

Minako gazed blankly at Hiiro and Usagi dancing. Dancing beautifully. Well, Hiiro was nowhere as capable as the dark-haired man Usagi had danced with previously, but Hiiro _did_ know how to dance.

It was still raining outside and every once in awhile, she could hear the boom of thunder over the elegant music, ever-present, reminding that there was a war out there. There was a war ready to be fought with lead and gundanium. And yet, at the moment, nothing mattered to her more than the war ready to be fought with ideals and habits between Minako and Minako.

Usagi's temper tantrum over the last week or so had brought conflicts within her to a boil until she was ready to overflow with impatience. But, previously, for the sake of her month-long friend, Minako had decided to suppress herself, to _control_ herself – something that she had never tried to do in her life. After all, life was not a game of who could _control_ herself the best; life was about _enjoying_ and _rejoicing_, even if that sometimes treaded timidly into debauchery.

But it had all come out today. Every little thing she had ever had against this "volunteer work." Every little thing she had had against Usagi. Every little _insecurity_ and _doubt_ she had had about herself. And all those little things accumulated to cause her to snap at Usagi and to commit that horrendous social blunder that will remain engrained in Hiiro's mind for eternity.

What did Hiiro want from them? Why couldn't he just make up his mind so they could all be satisfied? Relena, Usagi, or Minako! _Come now, Hiiro_, she wanted to scream at him, _if Relena goes away, you will still have to choose! There's no use stalling! So why don't you just spit out that you love Usagi and let me return to being an enthusiast instead of a romantic!_

She was tired of this. She was tired _them_. She was just … _tired_.

Her life was her own. Everything about her was her own. So why should she offer all of her own just to play make-believe? Let's make believe that we're Relena Darlian. Let's make believe that we're … that we're … in love with Hiiro.

Her problems were overwhelming, but they were also her own.

And she … she was all on her own.

…………………

Thank you much for reading. :D Yours, Angel.


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: No own.

Warning: OOC-with-reason Hiiro.

Chapter 19

Angelight

…………………

The morning crept upon the night with no cease in lightening or thunder. It felt like evening when they departed the mansion; the sky remained a profound slate gray; the air was alive with the pitter-patter of rain.

Through the night Usagi had swallowed and tamed her fears so well that by 8:00 that morning, her aspect dawned shining and joyful as if it were a day in the middle of August and they were headed for a quick horseback ride followed by a picnic. That was clearly not the case and she imagined Hiiro and Minako thought her quite irreverent for smiling so.

She hadn't slept at all. Hiiro's words had trickled like cold water through her mind and down her spine all of the six or so hours Minako and she "slept". But Minako hadn't slept either. Even the booming thunder outside safe, protective walls failed to drown out the soft whimpers of a girl in the other room trying to hide from the rest of the house that she was crying. **(1)**

Looking back on it not even six hours later, Usagi almost felt like laughing at the perversity of Minako's crying. The perversity, the irony, and the harsh, hard tragedy of sunshine crying. Minako had been cheering her up for eons – or so it felt like it. Usagi had to admit, a bit embarrassedly, that perhaps she had come to rely a bit too much on Minako's emotional stability and ability to hope. In the end, it was just another instance of hope misplaced.

"Eat quickly. We have five minutes before we're due to leave," Hiiro ordered the instant Usagi walked into the room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. His tone was already unrelenting at that hour of the day, and Usagi groaned to think how it'd worsen as hours crawl by. Today would not be an easy day for her.

She ducked her head and cringed into her glass of orange juice, instantly guilty for having thought such an unforgivable thought. If anything, today would not be an easy day for Hiiro. She could only imagine how well _he'd_ slept through the night.

"Of course, Mr. Grumpy," she'd replied simply – almost flirtatiously – as she smiled a flippant smile. The cook, who'd decided to show his face this morning, shot Hiiro a scandalous look as if to say, in his heavy French accent, "My food eez not to be rushed through, Monsieur Yui."

The brief flash of anger over Hiiro's face was painfully short-lived before blandness overtook it and Usagi turned her attention once again to food with the taste of heavy disappointment at the back of her throat. Minako was already half a plate of scrambled eggs ahead of her and seemed ready to let up.

Through the night, between listening to Minako crying and turning the possible events of the next day over in her head until they were threadbare, Usagi's thoughts had inevitably turned to Hiiro. Not long ago, he had only been "the guy Minako foolishly (but nonetheless truly) fell in love with." But Quatre's charity ball had splashed cold water on her face, and Usagi had realized, with a hint of disbelief and shame, that the night before, while dancing with the hopelessly handsome Mr. Chiba, she had hoped to get some sort of reaction out of Hiiro. But there had been none and at that bitter note of defeat, Usagi understood something that mortified her beyond words:

She had effectively become the third and last "Relena Darlian" to fall in love with Hiiro Yui.

…………………

It wasn't until they'd boarded the plane that Usagi became aware that they were headed for Canada. The country itself wasn't so exotic that it inspired wonder – after all, she'd traveled everywhere from Africa to Tibet in her photographic journeys – but the fact that never once had Hiiro nor Minako mentioned it to her was vastly unsettling. It was as if there was something _private_ going on between the two and that thought in and of itself made her sick with misery and something too close to jealousy for her to admit.

Hiiro had glanced over at her grimly as they bypassed security in order to board the plane and said, humorlessly, "Surprise."

She made a face at him and turned away.

"Don't worry. I also thought they'd've kept her in some tucked away little town but … well … Vancouver, here we come."

"I guess that shows how much we know, Minako," she laughed a little but couldn't continue because the falseness of every word she'd uttered choked her and made her nauseous.

Their flight was pushed back for a tentative hour to wait out the thunderstorm and by 10:30 that morning, they took off.

"I'm so tired of plane rides," Minako sighed after another mad scramble for the window seat which Usagi won (inevitably). She glanced once at Hiiro and once at Usagi. One was staring morosely straight ahead and the other out the window.

Minako decided this was one of those plane rides where sleep was the best option.

…………………

"You're stupid, Duo."

"Amen!" Wufei hollered from across the room. Quatre turned and shot the Chinese pilot an irate look and Wufei quickly looked down and pretended to be shuffling through paperwork.

"How can this possibly be the smuggler? How can he be a _she_ and be no more than twenty-five? And how can she be anywhere but _on_ L2?"

"Come now, Quatre. Have a little faith in me. My gut feeling tells me it's this chick. Not this guy we've been tracking for the last three weeks. Please. I'm almost positive."

"You have no factual backing." Quatre shook his head. "And almost positive isn't good enough." He started walking to Wufei's side of the room, to the computers. Duo followed him.

"Just look at this, Quatre. Have you even paused a moment to fully consider it? This woman is in Vancouver, the same city as _you know_ so _naturally_ she would know already that _you know_ was sick. So Mizuno would understand that the girl she saw in the conference room was _not_ _you know_. Do you remember what Mizuno said to Usagi? She said _your presence is a surprise._ Now how can it be a surprise when all the members knew who else was going to show? And the presence of Mizuno shows that this person – whoever she is – has _helpers_. There might be dozens of them. Who knows? We already know some of them are within the ESUN, clogging up the gears, undoubtedly."

Quatre looked torn and both Wufei and Trowa had looked up from their work to listen. "It's a tempting idea. Almost ludicrous. It'd be a hell of a story if it were true," Wufei grudgingly agreed.

"A _too_ tempting idea," Trowa sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you _are_ just stupid, Duo."

The American's face fell. "Come _on_, you guys! That was ages ago. I'm much smarter now."

Quatre had to smile at the childish words. "All right, Duo. We'll see. We'll investigate this Miss X along with our mystery man and see what we get. But that means staying up and working on the double."

"You won't regret it, Quatre."

Wufei smirked. "Who knows? If you're right, Maxwell, I might even stop insulting you."

"But don't bet on it, Duo," Trowa added with a small chuckle.

…………………

Two months ago she would have walked into that comfortable two-room apartment with a sense of awe and expectancy. She would've followed Hiiro meekly down the hall to the last door on their right and waited with bated breath for him to open it. She would've shrunk back at first when it did open and then slowly enter as if encountering the presence of some great god she'd long forgotten that deserved to be worshipped soundlessly.

But this was now and the Minako of today was not even half as timid or afraid as that of two months ago. Yes, she did hesitate before entering the room, but there was no awe coloring her words when she greeted the quiescent woman in the midst of heaps of pillows and blankets. The IV coming from her arm looked frail and lost under that mountain of covers.

Usagi followed her and they stood soundlessly, side by side, like brainless ornaments, as Hiiro approached and then knelt. The woman in the bed stirred and two slivers of dreamy blue widened until she was fully awake. How cognizant of events she was was another story.

"Relena, it's me."

It seemed that both she and Usagi cringed at the sheer tenderness of those three simple words as if they had too much to show – years of memories and happy moments that neither she nor Usagi could ever compete with.

"I brought them. The girls acting your part."

Relena Darlian's eyes turned toward them and she frowned a bit, muttering, "Twins?" She didn't seem to realize that they were twins in their likeness to _her_ and Hiiro's downcast expression showed that he noticed this mental fallacy all too clearly.

"They are the girls acting as you."

Relena's eyes widened and she looked as if she wanted to sit up and take a better look but couldn't. Usagi inched forward and Minako followed her.

"What brave girls," she murmured. "What are your names?"

"I'm Minako and this is Usagi."

It started to drizzle outside.

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Relena," Usagi added. "A great honor."

Relena smiled a wan smile which made her look sicker than ever. "They're beautiful. You have done an amazing job, Hiiro."

The look on Hiiro's face was so painfully loving that Minako had to look away and excuse herself out of the room.

Not a moment later, Usagi followed her.

…………………

For as long as he could remember, there was always something delightful about Relena's eyes. On the most physical level, their color seemed to match the soft blue of sweet Mary's most beloved garb and spoke of the same peace and warmth. But when he'd first met her, her eyes had danced with life and seemed to tell the whole world that they had seen gay and exciting things and will soon see gay and exciting things again. Her eyes seemed to tell the whole world that she loved all of it and cherished all of it as if it were her last breath. **(2)**

Hiiro had fallen in love with those eyes.

"I'm sorry for all this, Hiiro. Please forgive me," she said in a low voice, hardly daring to glance up at him. He had to lean forward just to hear her. Sometimes he wondered if she murmured just to get a person to lean toward her but even that taste of manipulation didn't make the gesture any less endearing. "I shouldn't have placed this burden on you and the others. And those two innocent girls."

"It's nothing," he replied shortly as if he were the only person she was apologizing to and then had to search for more words.

Last night words had come much more quickly and forcibly, nearly causing him to gag on their intensity and purity of desire. He had wanted to tell her everything – all the moments he'd mourned over her, all the thoughts he'd had of her, all the tenderness his heart had felt toward her – but when in front of her beautiful eyes and tired body, his words had shriveled in their impotence and superciliousness and fell like dead leaves from his eyes as the first tears came.

He pursed his lips and looked aside feeling so incredibly weak and exposed in her presence that it hurt and called forth more tears that he'd kept pent up for the last year or so.

She reached over and took a hold of his hand, pressing it to her smooth cheek. He knelt by her again and in one of the most impulsive moments of his life, covered her hand with both of his, kissed it, and bowed over it. She was cold; her fingers burned him with their frigidity.

"I love you, Relena." He didn't look up. Her hand trembled in his grasp and she gently retracted it. When he lifted his eyes, she was turned away from him, gazing out the window at the, by then, pouring rain.

He knelt there for fifteen minutes, but she never once turned back to him.

…………………

They were home by 9:00 that night from Vancouver. Hiiro hadn't spoken a word on the plane and this time, Usagi had ceded the window seat to him out of sympathy so he could turn from everybody else on the plane and be engrossed in his small rectangle of sunset. He made so tragic and beautiful a picture that the two of them almost didn't dare to look at him.

All lights were on in the mansion when they pulled into the driveway and the entire household staff seemed to have been waiting for them, waiting for the news of their beloved mistress that was too, too far away.

Hiiro had entered and headed straight for his bedroom, brushing aside all concerned questions of Pagan. The chef brought out a couple of simple dishes for her and Usagi, and they sat, uneasily. They ate quickly and out of courtesy for the trouble the chef went to and then headed for their rooms, muttering weak excuses about being tired and talking about it tomorrow.

When upstairs they glanced at each other and smiled small smiles. There was utter silence which assured them that at least Hiiro wasn't crying behind thin walls and the steady fall of the rain.

They parted.

…………………

It was not even two hours past midnight when Minako woke up and found that she couldn't sleep. The room – the whole house – felt stifling so she headed downstairs and toward the front door, into the night.

She stood there for a moment and breathed, eyes closed, heart thudding faintly. The heavy smell of rain overwhelmed her though it'd already stopped and water collected in small puddles across the driveway. She walked forward, crossing onto the lawn, and stopped short.

There was a figure there, dressed in white, alone, sitting on the wet lawn, with only the night and feel of rain in the air to keep it company. For a moment, her heart flew to her throat and she thought about turning back. But before she knew it, Minako was beside the figure and sitting down.

Hiiro barely glanced over as if her presence made no significant impact on him nor the night.

In front of them stood a pool of water in the middle of which was a series of fountains that were programmed with lights to flower and wilt to the beat of old Broadway tunes. There was no music but somebody had started the program and the fountains rose and fell joyously as if symbolizing the moments of each person's life. The heavy falling of water created a syncopated rhythm as if massaging the ears. White and golden lights spotlighted the show of water.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked timidly.

No answer. Not even a stir.

Minako sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "Well, I couldn't, either." It seemed a sacrilege to break the silence. "Neither Usagi nor I know exactly what to say to you … so so far we've said nothing. But I hope—" her voice faltered "I hope that you understand we're always here for you. Both of us. As long as you need us. Even if sometimes we'd strongly disagree." The silence resumed. In it, Minako shifted and felt awfully awkward.

"Maybe I'm just disturbing you. I think I'll go back to b-" Her words caught at her throat at the sight of his hand gripping her forearm.

Then that one word.

That one word that could make her give up everything and kiss his hands.

"Stay."

He still didn't look at her.

The wind ruffled his hair that looked almost black in the darkness. His pale skin stood out and Minako felt a sense of déjà vu back to what seemed like millenniums ago when she had gone out onto the balcony and he had followed her. Back then, she had been amused by his good looks and had laughed at herself for overlooking them but now … her heart felt like bursting at the sight of his long eyelashes, his sensitive and mobile mouth, the sculpture-like quality of his smooth cheeks and high cheekbones, the strength of his chin, the arch of his brow, the relaxed potency of his figure—

The sight of him was almost overwhelming; Hiiro Yui wasn't just handsome, he was _beautiful_.

But even that word seemed like blasphemy when she studied him that night with the golden fountain lights casting a candle-like glow on his features and with his eyes half-closed like that, his lashes millimeters away from brushing his cheeks.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment and then a well-defined hand reached up to rub the tiredness and grief off his face. "I have a favor to ask of you."

She waited for almost five minutes before he continued. "Will you…will you hold me for a few seconds?"

His voice was so timid that it finally called the tears from her eyes. There was not a single note of the characteristic imperiousness and self-reliance he exuded.

"Of course," she whispered as he laid his head on her shoulder and she encircled him with her arms.

He never once cried. Never once whimpered. Just kind of laid there with his eyes open, staring straight ahead at the rise and fall of water. But she cried for him, rested her head on his, and whispered her unhappiness to the world.

They stayed like that to the beats of the fountain, of life.

…………………

When Usagi exited her room she instantly noticed Minako's door was ajar and turned to peek in. The moonlit walls and carpet were mute and soulless without their occupant.

She hesitantly walked downstairs and tiptoed around, looking for Minako. She headed for the front door, not even bothering to grab a jacket.

…………………

He shifted, sat up, and for the first time that night turned to look at her, look at her as exactly what she was with her tear-streaked cheeks and quivering lower lip. And then tentatively, as if experimenting, he leaned toward her and kissed her.

He pulled away and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"Why can't you be the one I love?" he murmured and Minako knew then that the battle was half-lost.

There was the snap of a twig that broke the steady rhythm of the fountain and both Hiiro and Minako jerked to turn around.

And there she was with crystal blue eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. There she was with her cheeks rosy from the cold, her brow furrowed in a premonition of tears, and her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. Minako stood.

"Usagi?"

Hiiro also got up and stumbled a bit without his usual grace, as if he were drunk from sitting so long in the same position. He took one look at Usagi, heard her silent accusation, her silence confession, and saw the realization dawning upon Minako; he headed for the house with neither Minako nor Usagi making a move – they stared at each other in the eyes as if trying to decipher just when the world had begun to lose coherence.

Five minutes later, as they stood on the lawn gazing bleakly at each other, all truths out in the open, headlights lit the estate and caught the slight drops of water from the fountains. There was the soft hum of an engine and a crunch of gravel, and he was gone.

The lights dimmed and the fountain murmured to a stop.

…………………

The writing of this chapter was very strange and depressing. I feel almost like a different person. xD; But I was a bit more serious, turned the poetics up a notch … too much perhaps. Towards the end it didn't seem moving any longer … almost overdone and theatrical and mawkish. :P But this chapter was pretty depressing. I felt depressed as I wrote it. I even tried to insert a tiny bit of humor to lighten it up in the beginning but gave up when it seemed hopeless. xD; So there you have it. The chapter that I begged Ashika to let me write. xD; And what do you know? A Hiiro pining for Relena. xD;

And the last bit with the "why can't you be the one that I love?" was Meteor Garden inspired. :D It was a touching moment in the show, to say the least.

I'm targeting Dearest next for update. :O It's been ages.

As always, thank you for reading. Yours, Angel.

Notes:

_1. Even the booming thunder outside safe, protective walls failed to drown out the soft whimpers of a girl in the other room trying to hide from the rest of the house that she was crying. _– Remember, Relena ordered that the house be designed to facilitate the traveling of sound through walls.

_2. For as long as he could remember, there was always something delightful about Relena's eyes. On the most physical level, their color seemed to match the soft blue of sweet Mary's most beloved garb and spoke of the same peace and warmth. But when he'd first met her, her eyes had danced with life and seemed to tell the whole world that they had seen gay and exciting things and will soon see gay and exciting things again. Her eyes seemed to tell the whole world that she loved all of it and cherished all of it as if it were her last breath – _the eyes bit and a paragraph or so later the murmuring bit was a bit from The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald). The "soft blue of sweet Mary's…" refers to the blue … ah … cloak? that Mary is often depicted in.

To you:

**Jewels14:** Ahahah. My definition of "soon." :D

**Frosty:** And the depression continues. ; I think I resort to CMH for my serious moments. And venting. Lol.

**Iceprincesshime** I'm glad you think so. In fact, I'm quite flattered. :D I hope nothing changes your mind … xD;

**Dark Universe:** I think I went a bit too far with that this time. . This chapter kind of makes me feel sick inside. I don't know if it's because I'm identifying with the characters or because it sickens me with its insipidness. ; But thank you very much:D

**Ashika**: Hahaha now why would I do that? xD; But yes, my motivation. That is caught up in games. You should get caught up in games more often. xD;


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: No. Just no. xD That sounds awfully like defiance, lol. But I'm sure you know what I mean. :)

Enjoy, minna-sama. 3

…

_Chapter 20_

_.angelight._

…

The night came and went without the slightest whisper leaving nothing more than the traces of salt in previously wet footprints – dainty footprints of two girls he thought he knew but who now only seemed to blur together into an entirely distinct third figure.

They had wept. They had both wept. They had wept in ways that poets for centuries have sought to express and yet here he was, driving with painstaking listlessness, face pale like those of self-acknowledged cowards, to some place … a place that he seemed only to recognize in his dreams.

_Please, dear angel of heaven, will you not welcome me now into your embrace? Or will I have to see their faces once again, seeing but not seeing for perhaps I can never love them, can never love anybody, least of all myself—_

His thoughts frothed lethargically in his mind as he stared straight ahead at a wet road glistening silver under the virgin moonlight. Oh, if he could be that road again! Untrammeled and untravelled like a white ribbon of promise, waiting for a pair of small feet to dance on him so that he may marvel at their whiteness and their childlike form.

The car swept through a deep puddle of water and sprayed his windshield with diamonds of water; he didn't notice, but the car, sensing weight on its windows, mechanically moved to wipe away the water. It really made no difference for his vision was too blurred with tears corrupted by regret.

He remembered pulling into a driveway, a wide driveway, wide and inviting like the arms of an angel and of—

He remembered stepping out of the car, holding the cold keys to his temple to keep himself sentient and then—

Falling, falling, voices, and wings of pure ivory that were smooth to the touch but nailed to the ground, quite useless.

He remembered crying over them like he had never cried over anything in his life and watching them melt to smooth, white clay before becoming muddied by the unchaste gasps of his breath.

The next morning, when Quatre found him outside his front door, sprawled on the whimsical cobblestones, dew clinging to his romantic eyelashes, so pale that one might see the blue veins burn intricate labyrinths under his skin, Hiiro seemed to remember very little – nothing but brief flashes of falling water, a kiss, and the glassy eyes of a girl who looked like an angel.

…………………

"Hiiro, you are being too foolish. You cannot do this to yourself," Quatre intoned soothingly as he reached over to test the tea and then readjusted the cover of the sugar bowl so that it rested at a more visually pleasing angle. Though Hiiro sought out his eyes, Quatre never lifted them from the teapot once. "It's really quite ridiculous. You need to stop killing yourself over things that only exist in your mind."

"Then perhaps my life only exists in my mind," he murmured and accepted the cup of tea Quatre poured out with no small amount of care.

"Oh don't be so cynical. You've spent your whole life living as a cynic. I imagine it becomes rather tiring." A very brief flash of crisp aquamarine flashed up to meet his eyes. "You are really too transparent. Trowa would have been disappointed."

Hiiro stood and for a second Quatre started as if afraid but returned to spooning sugar into his tea as if the emotion had never visited his mind.

"You are so nonchalant about it. You toy with me as if I were a violin. Am I so easily played that you can so easily analyze my every half-step, can coax out the most delicate trills and the wildest notes of violence? You think I'm-" **1**

"I don't know what to think of you, Hiiro. Very few people do. Trowa does but doesn't tell anybody. Miss Relena does but cannot tell anybody. Nobody else," the blonde replied coolly. "Now do sit down. I won't hold a civilized conversation with your pacing about."

Hiiro took his seat reluctantly and vengefully gulped at his tea, ignoring the searing burn across his tongue, the roof of his mouth, his throat – it did not burn more than his words and certainly not more than his tears.

"We never quite realize how tightly in his grasp Eros has us all, hmm, Hiiro?" Quatre laughed a little but no wind of laughter touched the clear-cut irises of his eyes. "You least of all, I'd think. But it's beautiful what love has made you, Hiiro. Beautiful and terrifying. Your eyes have become most charmingly like paradise blue silk."

"You are still mocking me," Hiiro growled but remained in his seat like a reluctantly obedient schoolboy. "You cannot fathom what I have experienced ever since Relena became ill."

Quatre smiled, a small smile that seemed to make him glow like Mary smiling through tears at the sins of mankind. "No, I cannot, but you are not the first to have experienced it." He clasped his hands in front of him as if in prayer and rested his chin upon them, glancing out the three, tall windows illuminating the breakfast table. "Miss Minako and Miss Usagi are very sweet creatures but they will never be Miss Relena. Perhaps you will learn to love one or the other in order to please your ego, in order to atone for Miss Relena, but until you stop thinking as if they should do everything as Miss Relena does, you shall never be satisfied with one or the other and your atonement will be quite illusory." Quatre paused to sigh and glance out at the laburnums and their violent, uncontained beauty. "Allah never creates the same person twice. I should know," he smiled to himself ruefully, almost cruelly. "I'd spent at least half of my life looking for another woman like my mother and in the end, she is not to be found."

The mist of a dream clouded the clear blue of his eyes as Quatre gazed outside at his garden. The poppies nodded gaily at him in the breeze and he smiled a little in recognition.

"Either way, I do hope you treat the two girls gently," Quatre sighed, turning back almost cheerily to Hiiro as if in the silence he had communicated with God and found solace in His words. "When two people meet, Hiiro, neither can go away untouched; souls are too flimsy to survive in even the briefest flirtations without losing or gaining something. Yours had touched Miss Relena's too violently and left it shuddering in wonder or ecstasy or pain – I can't quite discern. Do be more careful from now on, Hiiro." The blonde smiled sweetly, his eyes darkened to a peculiar lavender-blue as if he had experienced the extremes of both joy and tragedy and had found his heart heavier and more solemn afterward. "Souls are wounded as much by pleasure as by agony."

…………………

In her heart she knew the battle was over, as good as lost, or forfeited, or forgotten.

_If only you could be the one I love_.

If only indeed! If only love could be something that if one wished hard enough for would come! If only her hair were a shade darker, her voice a touch sweeter, her eyes the most glorious cornflower blue that Hiiro had ever beheld! Why, if only this one time, when she reached up to grab something before the waves of the world suffocated her, she could hold something more durable than dead leaves, more tangible than sunlight, more gentle than the tangled roots of treacherous lilies. Something beautiful with eyes like sordid sapphires, lips like rose-leaves, hands like her last bastions of hope.

Minako had stared after Usagi a long time, long after the other blonde had fled upstairs into her own room, her refusal to talk sealed by the finality of the sound of her slamming door.

For hours into the night she pondered, until the silver lips of dawn touched the earth and became stained with roses and pomegranates and blood, until dawn pressed her passionate, newly scarlet lips to the expanse of the sky and left a foul, vermillion mark that transformed into the sun.

Perhaps she would have been happier as Usagi then, she told herself; Usagi still held all the fantasies of romance in her small hands, perfectly scarlet rose petals she held close to her so that it was never blown away by the cool tempest of somebody's cruelty or, worse yet, kindness.

_I have lost all of mine_, she sighed to herself, dwelling on the romanticism of her melancholy. _But perhaps if I search hard enough, I might find one – just one is enough, no matter how wilted or trampled! – and be able to move on to somebody else…_

But she realized the falseness of her thoughts before they trailed off into peals of cold, tinkling laughter. He had been everything to her! A Prince Charming with all the charm of not being at all charming! Her soul had been delighted with him, had drunk him in, devoured his presence, his every glance and every sigh.

But the more it ate, the hungrier it became, hungry for his soul to do the same – and it never did.

And perhaps that was her fault.

…………………

At age sixteen Usagi had convinced herself that her life had all the charm of a fairytale but none of its flourishes and that as fairytales knew not but to end happily ever after, her life inevitably must have stored for her a deliriously happy ending.

She had become quickly disillusioned. After all, it is the expectant rose, the rose waiting breathlessly to be worshipped and remembered in poetry, that wears away the quickest. Michiru had been too perfect in her scarlet dress and Usagi had become a most scornfully white rose with envy, a rose that was nothing more than the ghost of a reflection in a glass of silver. But her heart had remained crimson though it dared not allow itself be seen for fear of being compared to the wine-like hue of Michiru's intellect, charm, beauty.

Her love for Hiiro was, thus, the most curious and startling marvel and for two days she dwelled upon it like a young child dwells on the blueness of the sky. She had observed herself with almost scientific interest and had laughed at her foolish sentiments as if they were mere farces in her life to be observed, laughed at, and forgotten. Even now she had some trouble convincing herself they were more ponderous than illusions and follies, more fraught with the crimson that had always remained in her heart that even she was not aware of.

Her cell phone rang and she hesitated to retrieve it, staring in its general direction with a pensive frown marring her smooth brow. She was in love with Hiiro Yui, was she not? There was so much bluntness in that thought that it made her quite ashamed and her heart blushed with mild resentment. Of all people, why _him_? Was she destined to choose Minako or Hiiro? Or was the choice closer to her heart – Minako or Usagi?

She walked over and dug her cell phone out of her purse. "Hello?"

"Usagi, this is Rei," a familiar voice shouted into her ear.

"Rei?" she mused; Rei had seem dreadfully long ago, a faded tapestry of rulers and scales in her mind.

"Yes, about the story on the reason behind Miss Darlian's absence … do you know yet?"

"I-"

"I'm sure you do. Please meet me tomorrow at the Starbucks where we used to chat. I need that story."

"Where have you been?"

"I…" Usagi thought she detected a faint note of embarrassment that curled into the melody of defiant joy. "I've become engaged. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. See you then, Usagi."

And then it was over. She was left to collect her thoughts as they clamored about in her brain, each jumping to be picked on to voice its opinion first.

She bit her lip and thought about treachery and love and how confused and lonely Psyche must have felt, experiencing love in the darkness but not once seeing it.

…………………

To live for love, she reminded herself as she sat down to breakfast with Minako, was perhaps just as silly as to die for it. With that in mind, she looked forward to an entirely civil breakfast with no outbursts of ghastly emotion.

She was almost cold in her conduct and thoughts; the vestiges of crimson were seeping away from her heart and she smiled at her forthcoming transparency, her whiteness free of any unbecoming entanglements. Minako noticed and hardly dared to comment; Pagan noticed and became sad.

"Usagi…you are well?" Minako ventured; her blonde counterpart replied with a sunny smile and the topic was dropped.

Usagi then turned her attention back to herself and with selfish myopia decided that it might be best to forfeit all of Hiiro's best-kept secrets to Rei in an act of obsidian cruelty. After, she assured herself, she will surely stop loving him.

…………………

This chapter is highly dependent on MissIndependent13's review which stuck me as almost desperate and made me a little afraid. xD But after receiving it, I sat down (from 1 am to 3) and wrote this chapter out. I think you'll notice that I've been reading Wilde the last two days. xD It really alters my style. But this chapter overall pleased me. I think you realize what Usagi plans to do? And you'll soon realize the momentousness of what Quatre said to Hiiro. Please forgive me for updating so late! I had initially planned to reply to every review regarding that matter but maybe it's better to just type it here. xD And maybe I'm just a lazy hypocrite. --; But yes … I apologize and won't bring up excuses. xD And the updates should come more quickly from now on … I think … or maybe not. xD But certainly more quickly than ten months I should hope. :) Thank you for your time and hope it wasn't wasted. Yours, Ange-.

**Notes:**

1. "_You are so nonchalant about it. You toy with me as if I were a violin. Am I so easily played that you can so easily analyze my every half-step, can coax out the most delicate trills and the wildest notes of violence? You think I'm-" – _Hamlet reference – Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.


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